Leading cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has announced the acquisition of the popular Bitcoin charting and trading platform Cryptowatch. Cryptowatch is used by thousands of traders to chart over 150 markets in real-time and trade up to 22 digital assets through a highly user-friendly interface. Cryptowatch has seen rapid growth in the past two years, increasing its active user-base by 700%.
Kraken also announced that Cryptowatch founder, Artur Sapek, is joining the company to both continue developing Cryptowatch and lead the development of Kraken’s interface.
“In just 2 years Cryptowatch grew into one of the pillars of the digital asset trading community,” Sapek said. “Teaming up with an exchange was the natural next step, and Kraken was my first choice. The Kraken team has built a very mature and reliable exchange, and I look forward to working with them to deliver the best trading software in the industry.”
“I’m thrilled to welcome the Cryptowatch trading platform and its founder into the Kraken family,” said Kraken CEO Jesse Powell. “As the industry’s leading charting tool for traders, we plan to devote more resources and talent to further enhance its offering. And we’ve purposed the technology to provide a great new charting and trading platform to Kraken clients as the first step in improving our own interface. It’s a great start to 2017 and I can’t wait to share what else we’ve got in the pipeline.”
Cryptowatch is the most recent in a long series of landmark M&A deals over the past year that Kraken has leveraged to expand its global client-base, add new services, and bring highly talented members to its team.
Kraken previously acquired the 3 major bitcoin exchanges Coinsetter, Cavirtex and CleverCoin, as well as the award-winning wallet funding service Glidera – soon to be rebranded as Kraken Direct.
Kraken is backed by investors including SBI Investment, Money Partners Group, Hummingbird Ventures, Blockchain Capital, and Digital Currency Group, among others.
Artur Sapek also wrote a note to clients and employees on becoming part of Kraken:
I’m happy to announce that Cryptowatch has been acquired by Kraken.
I started working on Cryptowatch as a side project in January 2014. It quickly grew into a tool that thousands of traders now rely on. After two years of developing and maintaining it alone, I started to feel like the project had outgrown me. I looked to team up with a company that had more resources. The Kraken team, whom I had previously met, was my first choice.
As one of the most reliable and mature Bitcoin exchanges, Kraken takes security and compliance very seriously. They are also a profitable, self-sustaining business. I’m confident that they’ll be a good long-term home for Cryptowatch.
Kraken will also benefit from this acquisition as we leverage Cryptowatch to improve the Kraken trading experience. I have joined their team and will continue developing Cryptowatch alongside them.
I’ll never forget the early days I spent building this thing, and watching it grow up into what it is now. I look forward to the future even more.
Thanks for everything,
Artur Sapek