Kraken Expands Crypto Access to

GBP and AUD Markets with

Greatest Addition of

New Trading Pairs to Date

Kraken has significantly ramped up the number of direct trading pairs available to GBP and AUD clients as activity soars.

LONDON & SYDNEY - January 21, 2021 - Kraken, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by euro trading volume, has more than doubled the number of trading pairs available to clients using both the British pound sterling (GBP) and the Australian dollar (AUD), as the exchange radically expands its presence in two currency markets that have substantial upside potential.

Beginning Thursday, fourteen cryptocurrencies can be traded directly using thirteen new trading pairs each for GBP and AUD, on Kraken. The single-largest currency pair expansion in Kraken's near-ten year history, the new pairs smooth the way for GBP and AUD customers to gain better exposure to some of the fastest growing segments of the cryptocurrency space.

"The cryptocurrency space isn't just about Bitcoin, and it isn't just about the US dollar," said Curtis Ting, Kraken's Managing Director of Europe. “By expanding AUD and GBP markets into a far greater number of digital assets, Kraken is doubling down on its commitment to ensure all clients globally can more seamlessly interact with any number of the cryptocurrencies available on our exchange."

The UK is among Kraken's most active client bases for staking, a means to verify and secure blockchain transactions in return for regular rewards. Furthermore, Australia is now one of Kraken's fastest growing markets since the introduction of AUD funding in 2020. The new trading pairs – twenty-six all together – will allow Kraken's client base to continue to dynamically interact with the space as digital assets go from strength to strength.

For example, clients can use AUD and GBP to purchase assets such as Polkadot (DOT) and Cosmos (ATOM) to earn regular rewards through Kraken's staking service. Clients now have even better access to a service that has well over $1 billion worth of digital assets staked across the board and paid out approximately $27 million in rewards last year.

Furthermore, with trading pairs to Aave (AAVE) and Synthetix (SNX), assets at the forefront of financial innovation, Kraken now provides AUD and GBP clients with a far more direct route into decentralized finance (DeFi), a space whose total value increased by more than twenty-fold last year.

Lastly, adding AUD and GBP support for the likes of Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and USDC means Kraken now provides clients with a more comprehensive exposure to other leading projects with billion-dollar market caps.

"The digital currency industry is at a critical tipping point as institutional investors start to allocate into the asset class," commented Jonathon Miller, Kraken's Managing Director of Australia. "Through a marked expansion in trading pairs, one of our biggest to date, Kraken clients globally will be able to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies at the bleeding edge as the space continues to grow at a lightning pace to meet all manner of new use cases."

Based in San Francisco, Kraken is the world’s largest global digital asset exchange based on euro volume and liquidity. Globally, Kraken’s client base trades nearly 90 digital assets and 7 different fiat currencies, including GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, JPY, CHF and AUD.

Kraken was founded in 2011 and was the first U.S. crypto firm to receive a state-chartered banking license, as well as one of the first exchanges to offer spot trading with margin, regulated derivatives and index services. Kraken is trusted by well over 7 million traders, institutions and authorities around the world and offers professional, round the clock online support.

2021 is already a record year for Kraken. Year-to-date, Kraken has processed more than $320 billion in trading volume, more than three times the volume reported in 2020, our best year on record. Kraken is also the largest centralised staking provider in the world, with more than $10 billion worth of digital assets staked on its secure on-chain staking platform. Total client signups in the first half of 2021 were nearly fivefold the number of signups recorded across the whole of 2020.

Kraken is backed by investors including Tribe Capital, Hummingbird Ventures, Blockchain Capital and Digital Currency Group, among others. For more information about Kraken, please visit www.kraken.com.

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Staying true to our mission to bring crypto to everyone, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell explains it all in our new video series: Crypto 101.

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