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Deutsche Börse is buying into Kraken. The operator of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is dropping $200 million for a stake in Payward Inc., Kraken&#x27;s parent company. Both firms confirmed the deal.
The investment values Kraken at roughly $13.3 billion. Deutsche Börse gets a 1.5% fully diluted stake. It&#x27;s pending regulatory approval. Another traditional finance giant pushes into digital assets.
The two companies already work together. They launched a partnership in December. It covers foreign exchange liquidity, custody, settlement, collateral management, and tokenized assets, according to <a href="https://deutsche-boerse.com/dbg-en/media/press-releases/Deutsche-B-rse-invests-in-Kraken-123456">Deutsche Börse&#x27;s press release</a>.
Kraken now connects directly to 360T. That&#x27;s a Deutsche Börse subsidiary. It&#x27;s one of the world&#x27;s largest FX trading venues. Clients get &quot;bank-grade&quot; foreign exchange liquidity.
The partnership hit another milestone in February. They enabled trading of xStocks—blockchain-based tokens that mirror real equities and ETFs. The tokens are backed one-to-one by underlying assets. &quot;This is a milestone for tokenized securities and the convergence of traditional markets with blockchain infrastructure,&quot; industry analyst Ruchir Gupta said.
That $13.3 billion valuation? It&#x27;s down from earlier numbers. Kraken raised $800 million last November at a $20 billion valuation, according to Kraken&#x27;s blog post. The exchange has reportedly shelved its confidential IPO filing. Market conditions aren&#x27;t cooperating. Meanwhile, KRAKacquisition Corp., a Kraken-linked SPAC, raised $345 million. It&#x27;s targeting crypto or tokenization-focused firms worth up to $10 billion.
Traditional finance institutions are taking shortcuts. Building crypto operations from scratch takes forever. Buying stakes in established exchanges is faster. Deutsche Börse&#x27;s move signals something clear: regulation-ready platforms like Kraken are becoming strategic entry points. Incumbents want digital asset exposure. They especially want tokenized securities that put traditional assets onto blockchain infrastructure.
The investment comes at a rough time for Kraken. The exchange recently faced an extortion attempt. Attackers claimed access to customer data. &quot;We will not pay and are working with law enforcement,&quot; Nick Percoco, Chief Security Officer at Kraken, said. About 2,000 individuals may have had information viewed. The company has contacted those affected.
Industry observers see Deutsche Börse&#x27;s backing as part of something bigger. Crypto&#x27;s consolidating. An endorsement from a major regulated financial institution reassures cautious institutional clients. It may accelerate adoption of <a href="https://www.thecoinzone.com/news/compliance-blockchain-stablecoins-needed/" data-wpil-monitor-id="620">tokenized assets</a>. The links between traditional finance and blockchain-based markets keep deepening.

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Deutsche Börse Invests $200M in Kraken, Eyes Digital Assets

Deutsche Börse invests $200M in Kraken for 1.5% stake, valuing the crypto exchange at $13.3B. Major traditional finance push into digital assets.