Kraken's July 2026 updates: from crypto exchange to multi-asset platform

Why July matters

Kraken's July 2026 product updates point in one clear direction: the company is no longer positioning itself only as a crypto exchange. It is building a broader multi-asset venue that connects trading, collateral, payments and professional market access.

Nasdaq 100 comes to Kraken Prop

On July 20, Kraken said Kraken Prop added the Nasdaq 100 as its first market outside crypto. The program offers 24/7 access, no expiry or rollover, evaluation fees starting at $20 and funded wallet sizes from $5,000 to $200,000. Kraken also states that funded traders can keep 80-90% of profits, subject to the program's rules. Kraken Prop announcement

BTC and ETH options expand pro tools

Kraken also introduced BTC and ETH options for eligible professional and institutional clients. The contracts are European-style, cash-settled in USD and available across weekly, monthly, quarterly and semi-annual maturities. For advanced users, this adds another way to hedge, express volatility views or manage directional exposure. Kraken options specifications

Kraken Card connects balances to spending

Kraken Card went live for eligible customers in the UK and EEA. It lets users spend crypto and cash balances where Mastercard is accepted, with up to 2% cashback and near real-time conversion at purchase. The bigger signal is that Kraken wants account balances to be useful beyond trading screens. Kraken Card announcement

xStocks become trading collateral

Kraken Pro also made eligible xStocks usable as collateral for futures and margin trading. The first group includes SPYx, QQQx, AAPLx, GOOGLx, TSLAx and NVDAx, with haircuts and collateral limits. This gives eligible users a way to keep tokenized equity exposure while using it to support other positions. xStocks collateral announcement

Fee tiers now reward holdings

From July 9, Kraken Pro fee tiers are based on the best qualifying measure among spot trading volume, futures trading volume or assets on platform. In practice, a long-term holder may qualify for a better rate even without heavy recent trading activity. Kraken Pro fee update

What users should watch

These products are not available everywhere, and some are only for eligible professional or non-US clients. Options, futures, margin and prop trading can amplify losses. Users should check local availability, product rules and risk disclosures before treating any update as relevant to their own account.

Kraken's July roadmap is still worth watching. The message is consistent: more assets, more account utility and more professional tools inside one Kraken ecosystem.