Meanwhile, several other deals have taken place in the market.

Payward, the parent company of the Kraken exchange, has finalized its acquisition of the Bitnomial platform. This marks the first firm in the U.S. to hold a full set of CFTC licenses for trading derivative financial instruments.

The parties did not disclose the final terms of the agreement. In April, Payward valued Bitnomial at up to $550 million.

This acquisition grants Payward the status of a broker, exchange, and clearinghouse. This infrastructure will enable regulated margin trading, perpetual contracts, and options for Kraken and NinjaTrader clients in the U.S.

Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi noted that the first product under the new structure will be spot margin trading, with additional derivatives to be added later.

Bitnomial will continue to operate as part of the Payward group, retaining its current licenses and team. External partners—fintech services, banks, and brokers—will be able to offer regulated instruments through the Payward Services infrastructure.

With the acquisition of Bitnomial, the company has completed the formation of a global network of licensed platforms. Payward has already launched similar platforms in the UK in 2019 and in the European Union in 2025.

SOL Strategies Acquires Cross-Chain Aggregator

Investment firm SOL Strategies has acquired the cross-chain aggregator HoudiniSwap for $18 million.

HoudiniSwap is a non-custodial platform for asset exchanges across different networks, focusing on privacy. In 2023, the project generated approximately $13 million in revenue. The service finds transaction routes through centralized and decentralized exchanges, as well as blockchain bridges.

SOL Strategies stated that the acquisition will help implement Solana technologies in the institutional finance sector. The company plans to expand its business beyond staking and validator management, now focusing on infrastructure for transaction routing and cross-chain liquidity.

Company strategy director Steven Ehrlich noted that the acquisition will create an additional revenue stream, making cash flow more stable and reducing dependence on market cycles.

The $18 million deal includes:

  • $8.25 million in cash;
  • a promissory note for $5.75 million with a six-month maturity;
  • company shares valued at $4 million.

SOL Strategies emphasized that it will not sell its SOL holdings to finance the acquisition. The company currently holds over 524,000 SOL, with an additional 3.8 million SOL managed through validators.

Adam Back Invests $1.28 Million in Capital B

French public company Capital B has raised €1.1 million ($1.28 million) through a warrant issuance, with CEO of Blockstream Adam Back as the investor.

The cryptographer purchased 10 million warrants at $0.13 each, each granting the right to acquire one share of Capital B in the future at a price of $0.98.

Following this transaction, Back's stake in the company increased to 9.97% (39.5 million shares). Previously, the creator of Hashcash also supported the British firm Connecting Excellence Group, which raised $794,000 from investors.

Capital B will use the new funds to expand its Bitcoin strategy. Following the news, the company's stock rose by 6.5%. According to BitcoinTreasuries, the firm ranks 25th among public holders of cryptocurrency with assets totaling 2,943 BTC.

Recall that in March, Kraken froze its IPO plans four months after announcing them.