Kraken Launches U.S. Stock Trading — Challenges Wall Street Giants

Kraken Launches U.S. Stock Trading — Challenges Wall Street Giants

The crypto giant now offers over 11,000 stocks and ETFs — challenging Wall Street directly

In a landmark move that blurs the lines between traditional finance and digital assets, Kraken, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has officially launched stock and ETF trading in the United States. With more than 11,000 publicly listed assets now available on its platform, Kraken is emerging not just as a crypto exchange — but as a next-generation financial powerhouse.

“Crypto isn’t just evolving — it’s becoming the backbone for trading across all asset classes,” said Arjun Sethi, Kraken’s co-CEO, in a statement. “Clients want a seamless, all-in-one trading experience — and that’s what we’re building.”

A New Kind of Exchange

Kraken’s entry into equities is commission-free, available to clients in ten U.S. states, including New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The company plans to expand access to all eligible U.S. users in the coming months, followed by international expansion into Europe and Australia.

Through its FINRA-regulated division Kraken Securities, the exchange will offer:

11,000+ stocks and ETFsFractional share trading — enabling users to buy portions of high-priced stocksUnified portfolio management for crypto, cash, stocks, and stablecoins

With this rollout, Kraken joins a small but growing group of firms fusing digital assets and traditional markets — a direct challenge to legacy platforms like Robinhood, Charles Schwab, and even Nasdaq.

Why This Matters

This move positions Kraken at the forefront of the future of finance — one where trading never sleeps, and every asset class lives side-by-side on a blockchain-native platform.

“Expanding into equities paves the way for tokenization of real-world assets,” Sethi added. “We believe the future of trading is borderless, always-on, and built on crypto infrastructure.”

And Kraken isn’t alone in that belief. The move comes amid growing momentum in financial tokenization, with firms like BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and JPMorgan also experimenting with blockchain-based securities and fund structures.

Kraken’s Regulatory Comeback

Kraken’s expansion comes on the heels of a major legal breakthrough: in March 2025, the company announced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had agreed to drop its lawsuit against Kraken without penalties or changes to its business model. That legal clarity has given the company fresh momentum to expand its services beyond crypto.

In a separate announcement last month, Kraken also revealed its $1.5 billion acquisition of futures platform NinjaTrader, signaling its long-term ambition to dominate both the retail and institutional trading landscape.

The Bigger Picture: Crypto Becoming Core Infrastructure

Kraken’s transformation is part of a broader financial evolution — one where crypto rails power global, real-time financial systems that blend traditional assets with digital efficiency.

This is not just about adding stocks to a crypto app. It’s about redefining what a financial exchange looks like in the 21st century.

💡 Think of it this way: Coinbase helped people buy Bitcoin. Kraken wants to help you manage your entire financial life — on-chain, 24/7, without middlemen.

What’s Next?

U.S. rollout of stock trading to all eligible usersGlobal expansion into Europe and AustraliaUpcoming tokenized equities and on-chain financial instrumentsMore mergers and acquisitions to expand product capabilities

Final Thought

Kraken is no longer just a crypto exchange. It’s building what many believe is the future of global finance — decentralized, integrated, and always on.

And this week, that future just got a whole lot closer.

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Kraken Launches U.S. Stock Trading — Challenges Wall Street Giants was originally published in The Capital on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.