Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has launched Kraken Institutional, a new division of Kraken, a comprehensive crypto solution that provides institutions with everything they need to trade digital assets.
The decision to launch Kraken Institutional was made to meet the growing needs of institutions as they implement, manage, and scale their crypto practices, according to the exchange's blog.
Tim Ogilvie, Global Head of Kraken Institutional, said the unit brings together Kraken's existing products and services specifically designed for institutions that trade, host, and store cryptocurrency and are located outside the US.
It's worth noting that the new division is designed to curb Coinbase's dominance of the institutional market. Coinbase is now the custodian for eight of the ten recently launched Bitcoin ETFs, which will provide the company with high returns in 2024, and now Kraken wants a piece of that pie.
Kraken Institutional's launch comes at a time when the legal standoff between the exchange and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which began in November 2023, has escalated.
The Chamber of Digital Commerce (CDC), the world's largest digital asset and blockchain trade association, filed an amicus brief in support of Kraken in the SEC's case on February 27.
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The association said the purpose of the amicus is to prevent the SEC from regulating the digital asset industry through enforcement without legislative authority.
The CDC emphasized that the SEC is incorrectly asserting that the securities laws apply to digital assets, which are not inherently investment contracts.
Such actions by the SEC could have a significant impact on the $1 trillion digital asset sector and, by extension, the US economy, the Chamber of Digital Commerce said in a statement.
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