Dutch Bitcoin exchange, CleverCoin has been acquired by the popular San-Francisco Bitcoin exchange, Kraken just months after getting Cavirtex and Coinsetter, also Bitcoin exchanges.
After acquiring two exchanges already, Kraken still seemed to be looking to expand its user base and decided to merge the popular Netherlands-based exchange into Kraken which allows Kraken to expand into Europe. This is one of Kraken’s most popular markets and will certainly improve Kraken’s Euro trading pairs.
Why CleverCoin?
A graduate of Boost VC, Eindhoven-based CleverCoin was founded in 2013 and backed by the Venture Capitalists, Tim and Adam Draper. It was one of the first exchanges in Western Europe to offer regulated banking partnerships, leveraged trading and to focus on compliance.
A spokesperson of Kraken says:
“CleverCoin clients will automatically be transferred to Kraken’s platform on June 29, 2016. Once the transfer is completed, account holders will be directed to www.kraken.com to login, update account information, and they can begin trading immediately.”
With thousands of users on its exchange trading Bitcoin, CleverCoin provided some of the latest and fastest SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) payments compared to other Bitcoin exchanges. With the exception of their now former competitor, Kraken can learn a few things from Clevercoin and can potentially become the fastest exchange in the world of cryptocurrency trading.
Jesse Powell, CEO of Kraken, states:
“Our M&A plans have been accelerated by encouraging news throughout the industry. Prices are rising, the regulatory picture is rapidly clarifying, and clients from around the globe are joining us in record numbers. The acquisition of CleverCoin will empower Kraken with greater liquidity and a significantly expanded customer base in Europe, our flagship market.”
In April, the Euro pair weekly volume already grew at an amazing rate with the BTC-Euro pair having a 4 x increase and the ETH-BTC pair also had a 9 x increase giving sufficient reasons why Kraken should acquire CleverCoin’s European exchange. This should give the same results as Kraken’s Coinsetter and Cavirtex acquisitions which resulted in an increase in trade volume for CAD pairs.
Karsten Nilsen, CleverCoin CEO, says:
“Kraken is the ideal custodian for CleverCoin going forward. They are, by every measure, the largest Bitcoin and digital asset exchange in Europe and our core beliefs are perfectly aligned. As of today, CleverCoin clients will have seamless access to all the features and benefits of Kraken’s global brand, including the ability to trade many of the most popular currency pairs.”