Kraken’s parent company Payward is transforming its business from a single-cryptocurrency trading platform into a unified financial infrastructure platform that combines trading, banking, asset management, and institutional B2B services through mergers and strategic expansion worth billions of dollars. Previously, Payward invested $1.5 billion to acquire U.S. futures brokerage NinjaTrader and spent $550 million to acquire the compliance-regulated derivatives exchange and clearinghouse Bitnomial. It is now moving forward with the acquisition of a European bank. In terms of tokenized assets, Payward is partnering with Nasdaq (to support a $100 million investment) and the London Stock Exchange to develop compliant equity token and trading distribution channels. (CoinDesk)