Kraken acquires online brokerage TradeStation's crypto arm amid U.S. expansion

Kraken has acquired the cryptocurrency arm of online brokerage TradeStation.

While word of the acquisition came out Thursday after a report by CoinDesk, the closing date remains unclear as Kraken declined to disclose it. TradeStation declined to comment to The Block. 

The acquisition is part of the exchange's push to broaden its services in the U.S., a Kraken representative said in a statement to The Block. Kraken's stateside growth forms part of the company’s broader expansion strategy that has seen the exchange pick up licenses in several key European markets, such as Spain and Ireland, earlier this year. 

"We can confirm Kraken has recently purchased TradeStation’s crypto business,” the company said in a statement Thursday. The transaction is part of our efforts to accelerate our U.S. presence and will unlock further growth and new product opportunities for Kraken in the U.S.”

TradeStation Crypto holds money transmitter licenses in 47 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Center’s (FinCen) database. To avoid violating the law, crypto exchanges in the U.S. must obtain money transmitter licenses for every jurisdiction in which they operate and register their business activities at the federal level, according to FinCen.