Kraken launches regulated spot margin trading for qualified US retail customers
Qualified retail customers in the United States can now trade spot crypto with up to 10x leverage via the exchange's CFTC-registered platform.
Through a CFTC-registered entity, Kraken has made spot margin trading available to qualified retail customers in the United States via Kraken Pro, broadening access to leveraged cryptocurrency trading on a domestically regulated platform.
According to the company, the offering enables traders to utilize their crypto holdings as collateral for borrowing without liquidating their assets, providing leverage of up to 10x for both long and short trading positions. Kraken stated that the platform reveals liquidation prices as well as borrowing fees prior to trade execution.
According to the crypto exchange, margin trading under regulation within the United States has traditionally been accessible only to institutions and wealthy individuals who qualify as Eligible Contract Participants, which has driven numerous retail traders to seek leverage products on offshore exchanges.
The company noted that borrowing fees are assessed at four-hour intervals using rates disclosed before opening a position. Additionally, it mentioned that certain geographic limitations are in place, without detailing which specific US jurisdictions fall under these exclusions.
This product rollout follows closely after Payward, Kraken's parent entity, finalized its purchase of Bitnomial, a crypto derivatives trading venue, in a transaction the company indicated would facilitate the growth of federally regulated trading offerings in the US market, encompassing spot margin, perpetuals and options products.
During May 2025, Kraken completed the acquisition of futures trading platform NinjaTrader through a transaction valued at approximately $1.5 billion.
Regulatory shift triggers derivatives expansion
For several years, Bitnomial has maneuvered through the ambiguous regulatory landscape governing crypto derivatives within the United States, where platforms introducing new trading products have encountered overlapping federal supervision from both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
During 2024, Bitnomial attempted to introduce XRP (XRP) futures via CFTC self-certification procedures, but the SEC opposed this initiative, contending that such contracts might necessitate securities exchange registration.
Subsequently, Bitnomial filed a lawsuit against the SEC concerning the disagreement before withdrawing the case in March 2025. In the same month, the company rolled out regulated XRP futures for US customers, referencing evolving SEC policy positions regarding digital assets.
Since then, the regulatory landscape has experienced a transformation. Through a joint statement released in September 2025, the SEC and CFTC indicated they were examining approaches to improve coordination of crypto market oversight, including potential regulatory frameworks for derivatives and perpetual-style instruments that have predominantly functioned offshore.
With this evolving regulatory environment as context, exchanges operating in the US have started to expand their regulated cryptocurrency derivatives product lines.
During April, CME Group revealed intentions to introduce futures contracts linked to Sui (SUI) and Avalanche (AVAX), subsequent to previous proposals for Chainlink (LINK), Cardano (ADA) and Stellar (XLM) derivative contracts, while simultaneously progressing toward around-the-clock crypto futures and options trading subject to regulatory clearance.