How Kraken Plans to Dominate Tokenization and Perps in 2026 and Beyond

Episode 932

As crypto markets mature, Kraken is transforming from a trading venue into a multi-asset infrastructure platform.

Co-CEO Arjun Sethi joins to break down the exchange’s expansive strategy: building a vertically integrated derivatives business, pioneering tokenized equities with xStocks, and launching a purpose-built layer 2 chain, Ink, to bridge regulated finance and open DeFi.

Sethi also explains how Kraken responded to the Black Friday crash, the firm’s ADL and margin policies, and what Kraken wants from U.S. policymakers in 2025. Plus: how Kraken's acquisitions of NinjaTrader and Small Exchange could reshape U.S. derivatives, and why this time, tokenization may finally deliver.

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Guest:

Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Kraken

Timestamps:

👍 0:00 Intro
⚡️ 0:15 Kraken’s experience on “Black Friday” and how the team handled the chaos
👥 3:52 Why Kraken uses a co-CEO model and how it works in practice
🧩 7:50 How Arjun and his team kept calm and supported the broader ecosystem during the crash
📈 9:25 What the derivatives boom means for Kraken’s long-term strategy
🛡️ 14:55 Why customer trust and fair risk management are core to Kraken’s DNA
🏛️ 20:26 How the Small Exchange and NinjaTrader deals fit into Kraken’s U.S. expansion plan
🔗 31:44 Why tokenization is finally real this time and how Kraken plans to lead it
⚖️ 53:24 What Kraken hopes to achieve in Washington and what’s next for the company

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Published on 4 days, 5 hours ago

Podcast Episode Details

How Kraken Plans to Dominate Tokenization and Perps in 2026 and Beyond