By Arjun Sethi, Kraken co-CEO
Kraken was founded in 2011 with a clear vision: Build the most secure, reliable and accessible crypto exchange in the world. Our founders, Jesse Powell and Thanh Luu, started the company with a relentless focus on product, execution and long-term impact.
At the time, Mt. Gox was on the verge of collapse – something Jesse had seen coming – and after a decade of frustration with traditional payments in the virtual goods space, it was clear that someone needed to step up.
Bitcoin had the potential to change the world, but without a secure and resilient exchange, it wouldn’t reach its full promise. Kraken has been so focused that we’ve raised no more than $27 million in primary capital in our 14 years of existence.
Call it bootstrapped, disciplined or just an obsession with efficiency – but what matters is that we built for hypergrowth, stability and scale. We’ve disproven the narrative that you need to raise billions to generate billions.
We’ve succeeded by focusing on execution
Our incredible tech platform continues to deliver, with 2.5 billion trades executed since inception, 99.9% uptime and sub-2ms round trip latency. Our relentless execution is evidenced by our 2024 financial highlights, which we are releasing for the first time in Kraken history.
In 2024, we saw revenue of $1.5 billion (up 128% year-over-year) and $380 million in adjusted EBITDA. During the year, clients entrusted us with $42.8 billion in assets on the platform and 2.5 million funded accounts. Total trading volumes in 2024 reached $665 billion and our average revenue per customer is now well over $2,000 – far surpassing any comparable stat we’ve seen from traditional or crypto exchanges.
One of Kraken’s core principles from day one has been accountability – to our customers, shareholders and employees. We don’t just measure success by volume, but by the quality of that volume. Not just by security, but by the depth and soundness of that security. Not just by accessibility, but by how seamlessly our products integrate liquidity and user experience.
Kraken is a creature of the deep, and we have been building relentlessly for growth
While others chased short-term wins, we built our platform differently – steadily and methodically. We don’t get caught up in superficial stats or shallow victories. Today, with increasing regulatory clarity and industry tailwinds – not just in the U.S., but globally – we’re positioning ourselves for even greater acceleration.
Our disciplined product execution and diverse client base have helped us build the deepest liquidity pools in crypto, making Kraken one of the world’s leading stable-to-fiat onramps with more than 40% global stable-fiat volume market share among major CEXs. That liquidity attracts more clients, drives new product adoption, and fuels our continued expansion.
Transparency isn’t just a talking point for Kraken. The trust that we’ve built with our clients through this transparency is our currency, and it’s foundational to who we are.
In crypto, as in any industry, most companies focus on vanity metrics. Just like the early internet days shifted from page views and clicks to more meaningful engagement metrics like DAU/MAU, and mobile evolved from installs to registrations to daily retention, crypto is undergoing a similar transformation.
The terminology may change, but the fundamentals remain the same: Sustainable businesses are built on real revenue, deep customer engagement and long-term value creation. That’s why we were one of the first to publish our Proof of Reserves – and while others have stopped, we’ve remained committed to publishing it regularly, ensuring the highest level of transparency and accountability.
We’re also committed to expanding our reach, scaling sustainably and growing quarter by quarter for decades to come — all while keeping our edge, staying true to our culture of innovation and continuing to push boundaries as industry pioneers.
The sacrifices and good decisions of the past got us here, but we don’t take them for granted. It’s up to the team today to take Kraken to the next level — staying disciplined, thinking long-term and never losing sight of the depths that set us apart.
Revenue represents the total gross revenues for the period indicated. EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA excludes irregular, non-recurring, and/or discretionary expenses and is intended to provide a clearer view of the company’s core profitability. Assets on Platform are measured at the last day of the year. Funded accounts represent total funded customers with a balance greater than $0 as of the last day of the year. Total Trading Volume includes Spot, Margin, Futures, and Consumer exchange volumes for the full year. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) is measured based on total gross revenue / average total of monthly transacting users for the trailing 12 months. Peer ARPU based on publicly available information where specific numbers are not disclosed.
This contains forward-looking statements and both operating and financial figures relating to the Company that reflect the current views and/or expectations of the Company and its management with respect to its performance, business and future events, including various assumptions about events that have not occurred, any of which may prove incorrect. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain words like “believe,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “envisage,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “target” or any other words or phrases of similar meaning. Such statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and our actual results or other developments may differ materially from the expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. As for forward-looking statements that relate to future financial results and other projections, actual results may be different due to the inherent uncertainty of estimates, forecasts and projections. Because of these uncertainties, the reader should not rely on these forward-looking statements. Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates, directors, officers, agents or employees, nor any of its security holders shall be liable, in any event, before any third party (including investors) for any investment or business decision made or action taken in reliance on the information and statements contained in this presentation or for any consequential, special or similar damages.
