Deutsche Börse Group has acquired a $200m stake in Payward, Inc., the company behind global crypto platform Kraken, deepening a partnership aimed at building out regulated digital‑asset market infrastructure.
The investment, made via a secondary share transaction, gives Deutsche Börse a 1.5% fully diluted stake in the company, it said in a statement.
The two firms first outlined their strategic partnership in December 2025. According to the statement, they plan to combine capabilities across trading, custody, settlement, collateral management and tokenised assets, with the goal of creating “a holistic experience for institutional clients” and enabling frictionless access between traditional and digital markets.
The group said the move underscores its commitment to developing a hybrid market infrastructure capable of processing “assets of any technical form”, spanning traditional securities and blockchain‑native tokens within a unified liquidity pool.
The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to complete in Q2.
Deutsche Börse Group, headquartered in Frankfurt/Rhine‑Main and employing more than 16,000 people globally, operates market infrastructure across indices, data, trading, clearing, settlement, custody, collateral and liquidity management, as well as software and SaaS solutions.
See also: Kraken first digital asset bank to access Fed infrastructure
