CFTC Grants Kraken Relief on Derivatives Trading Platform

Kraken has received relief from the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) in the form of a no-action letter regarding its Designated Contract Market procedures. This will allow Small Exchange, which is owned by Kraken, to list products and restart trading without immediate fear of enforcement action if it complies with certain conditions and an October 2026 deadline.

The no-action relief comes after Kraken's parent company, Payward, acquired Small Exchange in late 2025. Without this relief, the platform would have been dormant for over a year and required a lengthy reinstatement process.

The CFTC's decision is seen as a major relief for Kraken, which will enable it to expand its regulated derivatives business in the U.S. This move comes as part of Kraken's efforts to expand beyond traditional crypto offerings into tokenized securities and other growing markets.