Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken acquires wallet financing service provider Glidera

Rage Comment : Corporate acquisitions in the digital currency field continue to occur in global markets such as Japan, Brazil, Australia, and the United States. There are both traditional companies acquiring blockchain startups and startups such as Kraken, Foxbit, and Prasos acquiring new exchanges. Among them, Kraken has continuously acquired many exchanges in the past few years, and the acquisition of New York Exchange Coinsetter in 2016 is a landmark case.

Translation: Annie Xu

Kraken, a San Francisco-based digital currency exchange, has acquired wallet financing service provider Glidera.

The details of the acquisition were not disclosed, except that Kraken spent several years acquiring other startups in the exchange space prior to the acquisition.

In April 2015, Coinsetter acquired CAVirtex. In January this year, Kraken announced the acquisition of New York Exchange Coinsetter. In June, Kraken acquired the Netherlands-based CleverCoin again and began to expand its business in Europe.

Glidera allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin through bank accounts and transfer funds to the wallet of their choice; after this acquisition, the company's name will be changed to Kraken Direct and it will serve Kraken's global customers.

Jesse Powell

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell said the deal “caps off a tremendous year for Kraken.”

“In 2016, all of the company’s businesses continued to see amazing growth. We expect acquisition activity to go even smoother in 2017, and Kraken Direct services will play a key role in this.”

This year, there have been a number of exchange acquisitions around the world, including Brazil's Foxbit's acquisition of BitInvest. In February, Finnish bitcoin broker Prasos announced the acquisition of Coinmotion.