US-based centralized exchange (CEX) Kraken yesterday announced its acquisition of token management platform Magna.
The deal closed Friday and marks the latest strategic move by CEX as it prepares for an initial public offering (IPO).
The move was reported by Fortune, which said Kraken declined to disclose the terms of the deal, but Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi told the outlet that the acquisition would allow Kraken to support token issuer teams “early in their lifecycle,” indicating that it could provide Kraken with a strategic advantage in terms of token listing.
Although it is unlikely there is a connection, Kraken also decided yesterday to list and promote a 2016 memecoin, PEPECOIN, which trades at just $15 million in market cap and should not be confused with $PEPEwhich launched in 2023 and trades at a market cap of $1.7 billion.
PEPECOIN has only risen 7.6% since the announcement, reflecting the risk-averse environment in the market.
PEPECOIN Chart – CoinGecko
Despite the lack of market enthusiasm for the listing, the acquisition of Magna and the listing of a micro-cap token on the same day may indicate Kraken’s continued aggressiveness in expanding the diversity of assets on the exchange.
