Kraken Raises $800M at $20B Valuation Ahead of IPO

Ethereum Unveils Interop Layer | Sky Backs Obex With $2.5B for DeFi Yield Projects

Marco Manoppo & Karon Pangestu
November 19, 2025

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Good Morning.

Kraken’s $800M raise has pushed its valuation to $20B and set the stage for an IPO next year. It’s a clear signal that Kraken is positioning itself as a leading institutional gateway for the next phase of crypto.

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In Today's Email:

What Matters: Kraken Raises $800M at $20B Valuation Ahead of IPO 🐙
Case Study: Ethereum Unveils Interop Layer 🔎
Governance & Features: Sky Backs Obex With $2.5B for DeFi Yield Projects 💰️

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Narratives: Exchanges IPO

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WHAT MATTERS

Kraken Raises $800M at $20B Valuation Ahead of IPO

Source: Bay Area Times

State of play: Kraken raised $800M across two funding tranches, pushing its valuation to $20B as it gears up for an IPO early next year.

The raise included major institutions like Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital, Oppenheimer, and a $200M strategic investment from Citadel Securities.
Citadel will support Kraken with liquidity, risk management, and market structure expertise.
Kraken has been expanding aggressively through acquisitions, most recently buying Small Exchange for $100M to launch a U.S. derivatives platform.
The exchange earned $472M in revenue in Q1 2025, up 19% year over year, and recorded $40.5B in trading volume in October.
Kraken frames the raise as a vote of confidence in its push to build regulated infrastructure for global crypto markets.

Why it matters: A $20B valuation and backing from Citadel show that big finance still believes in regulated crypto exchanges.

Our take: Kraken is leaning hard into the “institutional exchange” lane. The investor mix makes it clear that its upcoming IPO isn’t just hype, it’s a real bet on a more mature market.

For builders and investors: Kraken’s trajectory hints at a 2026 market where regulated liquidity and derivatives access become standard.

CASE STUDY

Ethereum Unveils Interop Layer

Source: ETH Research

Ethereum Foundation researchers released new details about the upcoming Interop Layer, a protocol designed to unify Ethereum’s fragmented Layer 2 ecosystem.

The Interop Layer aims to make all L2s “feel like one chain” by removing the need for bridges, chain switching, or managing multiple balances.
The system takes a wallet-centric approach. With ERC-4337 account abstraction at its core, wallets and dapps become multichain-native by default.
Users can interact across any rollup without knowing which chain they’re on, and new or existing L2s are automatically compatible.
The Interop Layer is now open for testing and is meant to solve the UX and liquidity fragmentation created by Ethereum’s rapid scaling.

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INSIGHTS

Uniswap Eyes UNI Burns as 2025 Fees Near $1B

Source: The Block

Uniswap’s new “UNIfication” proposal would activate protocol fees, route them to a UNI burn system, and streamline governance.

The protocol has already generated more than $985M in fees this year, with strong growth since Q2.
If the v3 fee switch is enabled, Uniswap could capture 10–25% of LP fees, creating meaningful protocol revenue that would be burned.
The market responded quickly. UNI surged more than 35%, adding over $1.6B to its value.

FEATURES & GOVERNANCE UPDATE

Sky Backs Obex With $2.5B for DeFi Yield Projects

Framework Ventures, LayerZero, and the Sky Ecosystem have co-led a $37M round for Obex, a new incubator designed to expand the Sky (formerly MakerDAO) ecosystem.

Alongside the raise, the Sky community approved allocating up to $2.5B in USDS to fund projects that graduate from Obex’s 12-week program.
Obex will focus on capital-intensive DeFi projects that generate onchain yield for the broader Sky ecosystem and its subDAOs.
The goal is to strengthen Sky’s RWA and stablecoin strategy launched under “endgame” plan, which includes the USDS stablecoin and Sky Savings Rate.
Framework and Sky leaders say Obex aims to help Sky compete with major TradFi players by scaling institutional-grade DeFi infrastructure.
The program will be run from San Francisco and administered by Framework.

Other notable feature updates:

Sui launched USDsui.
Neutrl has launched $NUSD.
Injective launched its EVM Mainnet.
ZKsync shared a new $ZK Token Proposal.
Jupiter announced its integration with Robinhood Wallet.
Uniswap introduced the Continuous Clearing Auction (CCA) Protocol.

QUICK BITES

Kraken's valuation hits $20B.
BTC & ETH spot ETFs see combined $437M outflows.
Revolut, Mastercard tap Polygon for new integrations.
OCC says banks can hold certain cryptos to pay gas fees.
Ethereum Foundation reveals latest work on 'Interop Layer.'
US Senate banking chair eyes vote on crypto market bill next month.
Uniswap weighs protocol burns as its 2025 fee haul approaches $1B.
Hyperliquid treasury merger vote delayed, postponing $888M deal.
Pump’s new ‘Mayhem Mode’ fails to boost token launches or revenue.
Sky authorizes up to $2.5B to back Obex-incubated crypto yield projects.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

Omar’s read on Banks and DAT Mania.
Wintermute’s read on November Week 3 Market Update.
Stablewatch’s read on Yield-Bearing Stablecoin Landscape Report.

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