TLDR
- Kraken acquired Breakout, a Tampa-based proprietary trading startup that provides traders with up to $200,000 in capital
- Traders on the platform can keep up to 90% of their profits after passing evaluation tests
- The deal follows Kraken’s $1.5 billion NinjaTrader acquisition in May 2025 as part of its trading infrastructure expansion
- Breakout supports over 50 crypto trading pairs with 5x leverage on Bitcoin and Ethereum contracts
- Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, though Breakout raised $4.5 million in seed funding in 2024
Crypto exchange Kraken has acquired Breakout, a proprietary trading platform that backs traders with company capital. The Tampa, Florida startup will be integrated into Kraken Pro as the exchange continues expanding its trading infrastructure.
Incredibly excited to share that Breakout has been acquired by @krakenfx. In under 19 months since launch, Breakout has quickly evolved into the leading evaluation-based prop platform for crypto traders globally. https://t.co/XXjj24bKEK
— Alex (@unclesendit) September 4, 2025
Breakout provides eligible traders with up to $200,000 in capital after they pass evaluation tests. The platform assesses risk management skills and strategy discipline before granting access to funds.
Traders can keep up to 90% of their profits from successful trades. The company launched in 2023 and supports more than 50 crypto trading pairs.
Trading Infrastructure Push
The acquisition represents Kraken’s continued investment in trading technology. In May 2025, the exchange purchased NinjaTrader, a futures and trading software platform, for $1.5 billion.
Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the deal allows capital allocation based on trading skill rather than financial resources. The company wants to reward demonstrated performance over connections or background.
Proprietary trading involves using company capital instead of personal funds. Profits are then shared between the trader and the firm providing the capital.
Breakout offers 5x leverage on Bitcoin and Ethereum contracts. Traders must maintain performance standards or face retesting if they exceed drawdown limits.
The platform raised $4.5 million in seed funding in 2024. Kraken did not disclose the purchase price for the acquisition.
Market Context
After the 2008 financial crisis, US banks faced restrictions on proprietary trading. This pushed activity to independent market makers like Citadel Securities, Jane Street and Jump Trading.
The crypto sector has embraced prop trading through firms like Jump Crypto and Cumberland. Retail platforms including Crypto Fund Trader and HyroTrader also offer evaluation-based trading accounts.
Other crypto exchanges have made similar acquisitions recently. Coinbase purchased derivatives exchange Deribit for $2.9 billion in May 2025.
Crypto.com acquired A.N. Allnew Investments Ltd to gain a MiFID license for European operations. Japanese exchange Coincheck announced plans to buy Paris-based brokerage Aplo this week.
Public Offering Plans
Kraken plans to go public as early as 2026 according to Bloomberg reports. The company would become the second US crypto exchange to trade publicly after Coinbase’s 2021 Nasdaq listing.
The exchange has expanded services to include stock and ETF trading in certain US states. It also launched regulated crypto futures trading through Kraken Derivatives U.S. in July 2025.
Kraken operates under improved regulatory conditions since President Trump’s inauguration. The SEC dismissed enforcement actions against Kraken and other crypto firms in March 2025.
