Kraken SPAC Raises $345M, Targets DeFi-TradFi Convergence

KRAKacquisition Corp successfully completed its upsized initial public offering this week, raising a total of $345 million. The firm sold 34,500,000 units at $10 each, a significant increase from the 25 million shares initially proposed in its registration statement earlier this month. An additional 4,500,000 shares were purchased as part of an overallotment option. This strong investor appetite allowed the SPAC to increase its fundraising target, providing substantial capital for its future acquisition. Since its debut on the Nasdaq, shares have traded with modest volatility, recently changing hands around $10.15—a gain of approximately 1.5% from the IPO price.

The company’s straightforward prospectus, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), outlines its core purpose. As a SPAC, KRAKacquisition Corp exists solely to identify an existing private company, merge with it, and take that entity public through the combined entity. However, the filing is clear that the firm has not yet entered into any “substantive discussions” with a potential target. This leaves the $345 million war chest unallocated, with the management team now tasked with finding a suitable partner in the digital asset space.

While the SPAC retains the flexibility to pursue a merger in any sector, its strategic intent is sharply focused. The company’s mission, as stated in its SEC filing, is “to accelerate the next phase of growth for the teams building the bridge between DeFi and TradFi.” This indicates a deliberate move beyond pure-play cryptocurrency exchanges or speculative assets and toward the foundational technology enabling finance’s digital future.

The prospectus details specific areas of interest within the digital asset ecosystem’s infrastructure layer. KRAKacquisition Corp aims to concentrate on companies developing essential services such as payments networks, tokenization platforms, and compliance solutions. “We believe the most transformative opportunities lie in the convergence of DeFi and TradFi,” the firm wrote. This focus on regulatory technology (RegTech) and financial infrastructure suggests a strategy aligned with broader institutional adoption, where security, compliance, and interoperability with traditional systems are paramount.

The SPAC’s most significant strategic advantage is its affiliation with Kraken, one of the world’s largest and longest-operating cryptocurrency exchanges. KRAKacquisition Corp is sponsored by NCTK Sponsor LLC, a Delaware entity formed specifically for this venture by Kraken, venture firm Tribe Capital, and Natural Capital. This structure creates a formal, albeit non-contractual, partnership.

According to the SEC filing, the SPAC intends to leverage Kraken’s “deep ecosystem access, enhanced diligence, proven operating experience, and regulatory expertise” to identify a target. The filing notes that while Kraken is not contractually obligated to assist, its participation as a sponsor partner “will incentivize it to assist us, without additional compensation.” This relationship provides the SPAC with unparalleled insight into the crypto industry’s competitive landscape and regulatory challenges.

This SPAC launch occurs against the backdrop of Kraken’s own planned initial public offering. The exchange filed to go public in November following an $800 million funding round that valued the company at $20 billion. A representative for KRAKacquisition Corp did not immediately comment to news outlet Decrypt on how the SPAC’s activity might impact Kraken’s direct listing plans. However, the parallel moves suggest Kraken is pursuing a multi-pronged public market strategy: one path for its core exchange business and another, via the SPAC, to strategically invest in and bring public complementary infrastructure companies that could bolster the entire ecosystem it operates within.