turn to private secondary markets and see that their valuations (the ones open to the ‘big boys’ who meet accredited status) average
by Damien Black
Kraken has long been known as a platform for trading digital assets – now investors, both large and small, can invest in the US cryptocurrency exchange itself, thanks to a new vehicle from Republic Europe that aims to lower the barrier toentry barrier entry.
For as little as $45 (£33), the price of a single share, you can take a punt on rKRKN, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) specifically designed to allow smaller retail investors to hold Kraken equity for the first time. Republic Europe’s announcement comes on the back of some pretty solid figures for the Kraken platform, which allows users to trade in more than 450 digital assets including cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum. Last year it reported tidy revenues of $2.2bn around the same time as it received an overall $200bn valuation from Citadel Securities.
Giving the small guy a chance
Kraken stock has previously been available to invest in, but only to larger institutional investors. The rKRKN SPV, overseen by Republic Europe, aims to change that by lowering the entry barrier. “We believe that access to later-stage private companies shouldn't be reserved for the few,” said Republic Europe, an equity crowdfunding platform. “By using this SPV structure, we can lower the minimum investment amounts and handle the institutional investment, allowing you to diversify your portfolio with a global digital asset platform.”
Republic Europe stressed that rKRKN is an indirect investment. “Kraken has not reviewed, endorsed or participated in this offering,” it said. “Investors will become shareholders in the SPV through the Republic Europe nominee structure. The SPV will hold common shares directly in Kraken.”
Making quality accessible
Incorporated by Republic Europe in London on 27 January this year, rKRKN gives access to the US platform, which is headquartered in San Francisco and serves more than 13 million users across 5.7 million funded accounts. Republic Europe has been licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.
It believes that the SPV move will democratise investing – an idea that lies at the heart of the cryptocurrency and tokenization world. “With many companies staying private for longer, the most significant wealth creation opportunities do not enable access for the masses,” said Theodora Bishop, Senior Investment Manager at Republic Europe. She added: “The launch of the Kraken SPV offers a rare opportunity: enabling the community to take an indirect financial interest in a global leader shaping the future of finance. This marks a defining moment for Republic Europe, and investors, as we bring private-market quality into the public sphere.”
It wasn’t always thus
How times have changed. In November, Kraken announced it had filed an S-1 form with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), paving the way for an initial public offering (IPO) after raising $800bn on the back of the Citadel valuation. But earlier that same year, the SEC dropped a lawsuit against Kraken that it had filed in 2023. This accused the cryptocurrency platform of operating as an unregistered online trading platform in violation of securities law.
The SEC dropped the suit in March 2025 after Kraken successfully argued that it was wrongfully being targeted amid a climate of regulatory uncertainty – the rulebook for crypto firms has very much yet to be written. The SEC’s decision to relent marks a broader regulatory shift in favour of crypto companies as evidenced by the GENIUS Act to regulate stablecoins, passed amid considerable fanfare last year. Other big players in the space who have recently been let off by the regulatory body include Coinbase, MetaMask, Robinhood and OpenSea.
Release the Kraken!
For smaller investors, the problem with Kraken is that it is not a publicly listed concern – yet. accredited investor to get skin in the game – that usually means having a net worth of at least a cool million.
What rKRKN effectively does, therefore, is act as a middleman, bypassing this gate. Republic Europe has presumably bought a large chunk of shares using its own capital, wrapped the Kraken stock in a single entity (the SPV) and offered fractional units to investors. What that means is small fish like you and me get to have a nibble at the very big fish that is Kraken. Of course, one should also emphasise what it doesn’t mean – namely, that you are guaranteed to make money. Caveat emptor (“buyer beware”) applies always, to smaller investors who don’t have all the money in the world, all the more so.
Convenience costs money
Another thing to bear in mind is that Republic Europe is not a charity – it is charging a premium for its service. So don’t be too disgruntled when you turn to private secondary markets and see that their valuations (the ones open to the ‘big boys’ who meet accredited status) average well below Republic’s $45 per share. Also, don’t forget that Kraken doesn’t have an official fixed share price – as it would do if it were listed openly on, say, the NYSE. Different private secondary marketplaces such as Forge Global ($36.42), Hiive ($34.62) and Nasdaq ($41.57) are all charging different rates. Figures quoted here were valid at the time of writing.
So all things considered, Republic Europe’s asking price of $45 isn’t too shoddy. But even so, there’s no getting away from the conclusion that asking prices are lower for those players who meet the capital requirements to invest directly. In other words, the richer you are, the lower the price. Whoever said finance was fair?
