Bitcoin Exchange Kraken Expands To North America, Buys Coinsetter, Cavirtex

Kraken, one of the leading bitcoin exchange, on Tuesday announced it is acquiring major exchanges Coinsetter and Cavirtex. Client accounts of both exchanges will be automatically transferred to Kraken’s platform on January 26. Following the transfer, account holders will be directed to Kraken’s website to login, update account information if needed, and begin trading immediately.

“The acquisition of Coinsetter and Cavirtex marks the beginning of a new era for Kraken,” said Kraken CEO Jesse Powell. “The consolidation of these three veteran giants is the largest exchange deal to date. Combined, we represent over thirteen years of bitcoin exchange experience in an industry that is only seven years old. Kraken has big, exciting plans for 2016.”

New York City-based Coinsetter acquired Cavirtex, a major Canadian bitcoin exchange operating since 2011, last year in April. The acquisition of these exchanges marks the beginning of a significant expansion by Kraken into the North American market. The deal will see Kraken’s expansion in the US with domestic USD payments in 37 states and Washington DC.

“To celebrate the acquisition, through March 1, 2016 all American and Canadian clients, including Canadians living abroad, will enjoy free deposits on Kraken’s trusted, next-generation bitcoin exchange”, the company said in a press release.

Kraken was one of the companies to suspend its services in New York after the New York Department of Financial Services released the final version of the BitLicense, a regulatory framework for digital currency companies in New York.

"We’re going to shut down New York again right after the acquisition," Powell told Yahoo Finance. "So the Coinsetter New York clients will be out of an exchange there, unfortunately. Coinsetter did put in a BitLicense application, but when you have a change of control, the application is void, so we won’t be serving New York and we have no plans to apply for a BitLicense in the future."

In a related deal, Kraken also announced a partnership with American payment provider SynapsePay to enable swift, low-fee domestic USD deposits and withdrawals to individual and institutional clients in 37 US states and Washington DC.