Kraken Taps Alpaca to Offer 11,000 Stocks and ETFs

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has joined forces with brokerage infrastructure provider Alpaca to give its users access to U.S.-listed securities alongside its crypto and fiat offerings.

The move makes Kraken, currently the world’s 13th largest centralized exchange by volume, one of the few crypto-native platforms bridging the gap between digital and traditional markets.

The company announced earlier this month that U.S. clients in ten jurisdictions — including New Jersey, Connecticut, and the District of Columbia — can now trade over 11,000 stocks and ETFs commission-free through their Kraken accounts. The rollout is part of what Kraken describes as a “phased national expansion,” with more states to follow in the coming months.

Alpaca is known for its API-first brokerage services and self-clearing capabilities, which enable commission-free equities trading through fractional and notional orders.

“This collaboration accelerates our vision of combining traditional and digital asset classes into one platform,” said Nick LaMaina, Managing Director at Kraken.

Kraken’s new offering arrives at a time of growing demand for unified trading platforms. The company says its long-term goal is to bring traditional and digital assets together under a single infrastructure, using blockchain as the foundation for cross-asset trading.

Kraken’s entrance into the equity space brings it into more direct competition with fintech platforms like Robinhood.

While the initial rollout is limited to ten U.S. states and the District of Columbia, Kraken confirmed plans to extend stock trading access to international markets, including the United Kingdom, European Union, and Australia.

The move follows a broader industry trend toward tokenizing real-world assets and building 24/7 markets that mirror the liquidity and accessibility of crypto trading.

Meanwhile, Kraken is weighing a sizable debt raise of $200 million to $1 billion as it gears up for a potential public listing early next year. The fundraising is still in early stages, with Kraken said to be in discussions with major banks including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. The proceeds would reportedly support the company’s expansion strategy, not cover operating costs.

Kraken has also been expanding into new markets. It recently closed a $1.5 billion deal to acquire NinjaTrader, a futures brokerage founded in 2003 and registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.