TL;DR
- Kraken Institutional has partnered with Upshift, a multi-chain vault infrastructure provider, to launch permissioned, custom institutional vaults accessible directly through Kraken’s qualified custody solution.
- Eligible clients can deploy assets into vetted onchain yield strategies without opening separate wallets or onboarding additional providers.
- Vault positions are represented by receipt tokens held in segregated Kraken custody and valued at redeemable amount, with no pooling or rehypothecation.
- The integration combines qualified custody, prime brokerage, liquidity and execution, and onchain yield into a single institutional relationship.
We’ve partnered with Upshift, a multi-chain, multi-protocol vault infrastructure provider that raised a $10 million Series A led by Dragonfly in March 2025, to bring permissioned, custom vaults directly into the Kraken Institutional experience.
Through this integration, Kraken Institutional clients can access DeFi yield directly from Kraken’s qualified custody solution, tapping into bespoke and curated strategies through their existing Kraken relationship. No managing separate wallets, onboarding multiple providers, or building the infrastructure to coordinate onchain and centralized activity.
The launch brings together Kraken’s qualified custody, deep exchange liquidity, prime execution, OTC services, staking and margin financing with Upshift’s institutional vault infrastructure. Together, the platforms are designed to provide a more capital-efficient way for institutions to generate yield and access cross-market opportunities through a single institutional relationship.
What’s launching
Through the Kraken Institutional × Upshift integration, institutions can deploy assets into permissioned vaults directly from their existing custody accounts. For onchain allocations, the underlying asset is deployed to selected vault contracts, and a receipt token representing the position is returned to the client’s segregated Kraken qualified custody solution.
The receipt token is not pooled or rehypothecated and is reflected at its redeemable underlying value on the custody statement, giving clients clear visibility into what they can withdraw. Institutional controls and accounting are maintained at the vault, protocol, chain and token level throughout.
Rather than generic shared pools, Upshift builds custom, dedicated vaults around a specific client’s strategy, asset mix, liquidity needs and risk parameters. Kraken will work with Upshift and a curated group of vetted, professional vault curators to support DeFi, CeFi, PayFi and real-world-asset strategies across more than 30 chains.
More than custody: the full institutional stack behind every vault
Idle stablecoin, ETH or BTC positions held through Kraken Institutional can become the starting point for a broader capital deployment strategy. Kraken pairs qualified custody with the institutional services needed to deploy capital efficiently across exchange, OTC and onchain markets:
- Qualified custody. SOC 2 Type 2 certified, Wyoming SPDI-licensed cold storage with segregated account structures, $100 million in insurance coverage, MiCA authorization under the Central Bank of Ireland, and FCA registration in the UK, operational since 2011.
- Prime brokerage and financing. Kraken Prime provides asset-backed lending, margin and credit facilities, allowing eligible clients to access financing without unnecessarily unwinding positions.
- Deep liquidity and execution. Smart order routing and algorithmic execution across Kraken and multiple external venues provide access to deep digital-asset liquidity for block trades and other institutional execution needs.
- Staking, settlement and tokenized assets. Native staking, institutional settlement workflows and supported tokenized real-world assets can be incorporated into broader capital and collateral strategies, subject to product eligibility and jurisdiction.
The result is a more capital-efficient institutional yield platform: clients can access yield in one place, without independently managing wallets, chains, venues, counterparties or protocols, and without the operational burden that has historically made many yield opportunities impractical.
Aya Kantorovich, Upshift CEO and Co-Founder: “Institutions have long faced a trade-off between secure custody and putting funds to work. Kraken and Upshift remove the operational overhead of sourcing yield efficiently across exchange, OTC and onchain markets that have kept capital idle.”
“Kraken pairs qualified custody with a full set of prime services, while Upshift provides the vault infrastructure to put assets to work. Together, clients can generate yield without spinning up new wallets, counterparties or protocols, while maintaining rigorous risk management built in.”
Gregory Barasia, Kraken Head of Asset Management, Kraken Institutional: “Custody should be the starting point for what institutions can do with their assets, not the ending point. Vaults are the next step in making Kraken Custody the most productive place for institutional capital to sit.”
What this unlocks for institutions
For institutional clients, the integration removes a long-standing trade-off: clients no longer have to choose between holding assets securely and putting them to work. The architecture is designed to activate assets already held through Kraken Institutional while preserving institution-specific risk parameters, permissions, approvals and reporting.
It gives eligible clients a single access point for curated onchain yield, centralized-market strategies, exchange liquidity, credit, derivatives and bespoke OTC opportunities, without adding a separate operating stack.
Availability
Institutional Vaults are rolling out to eligible Kraken Institutional and Kraken Custody clients in supported jurisdictions, subject to onboarding, product eligibility and strategy-specific terms. To request access, contact your Kraken Institutional representative or visit kraken.com/institutions.
Custody services are provided by Payward Financial, Inc. or Payward Europe Solutions, Ltd, as applicable. Payward Financial, Inc. d/b/a Kraken Financial is not an FDIC-insured bank and deposits are neither insured by nor subject to the protections of the FDIC. Payward Europe Solutions Limited, trading as Kraken, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Rewards are variable and not guaranteed; you can lose some or all of your assets. Interacting with on-chain smart contracts involves risks which are further detailed in the terms of service, including technological risk (bugs, exploits, and oracle/MEV/bridge failures), market risk (price volatility, de-pegs, and liquidation where relevant), and operational risk (irreversible transactions, gas fees, network congestion). Kraken does not control third-party protocols. Offered by Payward Wallet, LLC. Fees apply. Availability varies by jurisdiction.
OTC services, including spot trading, derivatives, and lending, are offered by Payward Oceanic Ltd., a member of the Kraken Group. These products are available only to eligible clients and may not be offered in all jurisdictions. OTC transactions involve risk and may result in the loss of capital. This communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, or tax advice. Availability is subject to applicable laws and regulatory requirements.
