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Britain’s Octopus Energy to spin out Kraken at $8.65 billion valuation

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Britain’s Octopus Energy said on Monday it will spin off its technology arm, Kraken, as an independent company valued at $8.65 billion, following a funding round led by U.S. investment firm D1 Capital Partners.

Under the deal, new and existing investors will purchase about $1 billion of equity in Kraken. Investors led by Octopus Capital will also inject an additional $320 million into Octopus Energy. Participants in the funding round include Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Fidelity International and Durable Capital Partners.

The transaction clears the way for Kraken’s formal demerger from Octopus Energy, which will retain a 13.7% stake in the newly independent company. The Financial Times reported that the separation could pave the way for a Kraken initial public offering within two years, potentially followed by an eventual listing of the privately held Octopus Energy. Reuters could not independently verify the report, and both companies declined to comment on potential listing plans.

Kraken provides AI-powered energy operating software to major utilities worldwide, including EDF, National Grid US and Tokyo Gas. The platform is contracted to serve more than 70 million customer accounts globally and reported contracted annual revenue exceeding $500 million as of September.

In a separate statement, Origin Energy said it will invest about $140 million in Kraken’s fundraising and retain a 22.7% stake in the platform after the transaction. Origin also agreed to waive exclusivity for Kraken’s services in Australia in exchange for an additional 1.5% equity interest.

Apollo, HSG, Jane Street Join Kraken’s $500 Million Fundraising Round Valued at $15 Billion

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Major financial players Apollo Global Management, Oppenheimer, Jane Street, and HSG — formerly Sequoia Capital China — have invested in crypto exchange Kraken’s September funding round that valued the company at $15 billion, according to two people familiar with the deal.

The $500 million fundraising, first reported by Fortune, marks one of the largest private rounds in the crypto sector this year. Reuters has now confirmed the participation of these heavyweight investors, signaling rising institutional confidence in digital assets amid a friendlier U.S. regulatory climate under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Other participants included Qube Research & Technologies, Kraken’s co-CEO Arjun Sethi, and Tribe Capital, a venture capital firm co-founded by Sethi. The round is seen as a precursor to Kraken’s initial public offering (IPO), expected to be filed confidentially with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before year-end, with a potential listing in the first quarter of next year — though the timeline could be affected by the ongoing government shutdown.

The funding highlights the growing institutional embrace of crypto. Kraken, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has been expanding aggressively through acquisitions: it bought NinjaTrader, a retail futures trading platform, for $1.5 billion in May, and recently acquired Small Exchange from IG Group for $100 million, strengthening its U.S.-based derivatives business.

The move comes amid a wave of crypto IPOs this year from firms like Circle, Gemini, and Bullish, which have capitalized on renewed optimism in the digital asset market.

Institutional enthusiasm has also helped lift crypto prices, with Bitcoin up over 20% this year, reaching a record high above $126,000 in October.

The involvement of Wall Street and Asia’s top investors in Kraken’s latest round underlines a broader shift: crypto is no longer a fringe asset — it’s becoming part of the mainstream financial ecosystem.

Kraken buys Small Exchange in $100 million deal to expand U.S. derivatives operations

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Crypto exchange Kraken has agreed to acquire Small Exchange from IG Group for $100 million, marking a major step toward building a fully U.S.-based derivatives platform that can serve both retail and institutional traders.

Small Exchange holds a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) license as a designated contract market, giving Kraken access to a regulated venue for offering futures and options — products that have become central to the digital asset industry’s push for mainstream legitimacy.

“Under CFTC oversight, Kraken can now integrate clearing, risk and matching into one environment that meets the same standards as the largest exchanges in the world,” said Arjun Sethi, Kraken’s co-CEO.

The acquisition reflects a growing trend of digital asset firms entering traditional capital markets, as cryptocurrencies gain wider acceptance and investors demand more sophisticated risk-management tools. Analysts say institutional adoption is accelerating as regulated crypto derivatives gain traction.

“Digital asset firms are no longer content being sideshow players,” said Michael Ashley Schulman of Running Point Capital Advisors. “They aim to wrest seats in the core capital markets ecosystem.”

Kraken described the acquisition as a strategic move to establish “institutional-grade markets” as crypto matures under a more crypto-friendly regulatory climate in the U.S. under President Donald Trump.

Earlier this year, Kraken also announced a $1.5 billion deal to acquire NinjaTrader, another retail futures trading platform, strengthening its position in the fast-growing derivatives segment.