Kraken Snatches CleverCoin, Consolidates Position in EU

Kraken has continued its recent spree of acquisitions by purchasing Netherlands-based exchange CleverCoin for an undisclosed sum.

Also read: Kraken Snatches Two Competitor Exchanges, Expands to North America

Kraken Acquires CleverCoin

CleverCoin’s existing customers will be switched to the Kraken platform almost immediately, starting June29th. Account holders will be directed to Kraken to update their information.

CleverCoin was one of the first bitcoin exchanges in The Netherlands, and has “thousands of clients.” Its acquisition sees Kraken consolidate its position as one of Europe’s largest cryptocurrency trading platforms.

Faster Transfers for SEPA Customers

In a statement, CleverCoin CTO and co-founder Karsten Nilsen said:

Kraken is the ideal custodian for CleverCoin going forwards […] As of today, CleverCoin clients will have seamless access to all the features and benefits of Kraken’s global brand, including the ability to trade many of the most popular currency pairs, the latest technology, the most advanced security, and faster Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) transfers.

CleverCoin was founded in 2013 and got its initial start as part of cryptocurrency investor Adam Draper’s BoostVC accelerator program.

The Kraken Rises

Founded in 2011, Kraken was known before 2016 as a predominantly European exchange and main driver of the BTC-EUR price. Headquartered in San Francisco, it made its first big play for the North American market in January by acquiring US-based Coinsetter and Canada’s Cavirtex.

Kraken also operates in Japan, where it manages the Mt Gox claims process on behalf of the Japanese bankruptcy trustee. It trades major fiat currencies in all regions in which it operates, plus GBP and CAD. The exchange offers bitcoin, litecoin, dogecoin, ether, DAO and Ripple’s XRP.

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell said Kraken’s M&A plans have been accelerated by encouraging news throughout the digital currency industry.

Prices are rising, the regulatory picture is rapidly clarifying, and clients from around the globe are joining us in record numbers. The acquisition of CleverCoin will empower Kraken with greater liquidity and a significantly expanded customer base in Europe, our flagship market.

Kraken’s statement said it has seen a rapid increase in euro-based trading for both BTC and ETH in recent months, with volumes increasing four times or more.

Since acquiring Coinsetter and Cavirtex, it also saw jumps in North American weekly trade volumes – including XBT/USD (13x increase), ETH/USD (30x increase), XBT/CAD (50x increase), and ETH/CAD (6x increase).

Kraken also completed Series B funding deals earlier in 2016, led by Japanese venture fund SBI Investment plus Japanese FX brokerage Money Partners Group.

It was one of the first exchanges to offer trading in Ethereum’s currency ether, and last month announced the first ether ‘dark pool’ and leveraged ether trading.

Is Kraken’s acquisition good news for European traders? Do you predict small crypto exchanges will gradually disappear over the coming years?

Images courtesy of Kraken, japantimes.co.jp