Kraken Could Bring Stock Trading To Platform; CEO Envisions A 'Super Wallet'

Many stock trading platforms have turned to offering cryptocurrency as a new feature for its customers. Could a leading cryptocurrency trading platform soon offer stock trading?

What Happened: Cryptocurrency platform Kraken could soon be offering stock trading for its customers, CEO Jesse Powell told Decrypt on its gm podcast.

Powell said crypto exchanges could tun to offering a “super wallet” that offers cryptocurrencies, NFTs and stocks.

“I think you’ll see these crypto exchanges all kind of converge on a very similar feature set that becomes a sort of super wallet, omni-product app with NFTs, spot trading, FX, maybe even stock trading, maybe even some more extreme crypto stuff,” Powell said. “I think we’ve said before that (stocks) are something that we’re exploring, and I think makes sense to do.”

Kraken was one of the earliest Bitcoin BTC/USD trading platforms, launching in 2011. Powell shared his thoughts on a competitive market and the fact that Kraken has some of the highest fees in the market.

“Ultimately, it’s going to come down to the best UX and being able to do more of what you want in one place,” he said.

Related Link: Kraken To Give Out $10M In Bitcoin To Clients Impacted By Ukraine Crisis 

Why It’s Important: Several trading platforms like Robinhood Markets HOOD and eToro started with stocks and later branched out into the cryptocurrency market as a way to increase the trading activity of current members and grow its overall membership count.

Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase Global COIN would likely monitor a move made by Kraken to offer stock trading, as it could be a new growth market for the company in the future.

Kraken is expected to launch NFT trading and DeFi staking in the future.

Photo: Courtesy of kraken.com