Kraken said on Thursday it would buy retail futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, in a deal that would allow one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges to expand into multiple asset classes and grow its user base.

The acquisition comes at a time when the crypto industry is optimistic about more relaxed regulation under U.S. President Donald Trump, who courted crypto donors during the election and promised to support the sector.

Industry leaders hope for policy shifts that roll back enforcement actions, encourage institutional adoption and create clearer rules for digital asset trading.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dismissed a civil lawsuit accusing Kraken of operating illegally as an unregistered securities exchange.

Kraken is the world’s tenth-ranked cryptocurrency spot exchange based on traffic, liquidity, trading volumes and confidence in the legitimacy of reported trading volumes, according to trading data website CoinMarketCap.

Long Ridge Equity Partners-backed NinjaTrader will continue to operate as a standalone platform under Kraken. Founded in 2003, NinjaTrader provides affordable retail future trading platform to nearly 2 million traders on desktop and mobile.

Source: Globalbanking&finance