Kraken is rolling out its AI trading tools with just $377 at its U.S. adviser as it goes after bigger revenue.
Kraken is redoing its consumer app to focus on “agentic trading,” where software tracks the market and tries to reach users’ goals. But a filing offers a sharper look at the project’s current scale. Kraken Adviser LLC listed just $377 in assets under management in nine non-discretionary accounts—where clients have to okay trades—and said it had no discretionary accounts, according to a Form ADV filed June 16. Kraken Blog
The thin starting point means the launch is more about how many users convert than the tech. Payward, which owns Kraken, said first-quarter adjusted revenue hit $507 million, up 3% on the year. Adjusted EBITDA was $18 million. It counted 6.1 million funded accounts, $40 billion in assets, and $357 billion in quarterly transaction volume. “We’re not optimizing for today’s EBITDA,” co-CEO Arjun Sethi wrote in May. Payward
Kraken’s disclosures and the public pitch point to different control setups. A Binance Square post referencing Cointelegraph said every move would need approval. But Kraken’s June 10 adviser brochure mentions an Autonomous Mode, letting the agent handle portfolio building, monitoring and rebalancing under a standing order, without sign-off each time. The documents don’t say if or when that mode will roll out to all U.S. app users.
| Measure | Approval-first public account | U.S. adviser disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| Trade authority | Customer OKs each suggestion | Plan-and-Approve and also an Autonomous Mode |
| Portfolio work | Goals, sample portfolios, and custom advice | Agent can build, manage, and rebalance securities portfolios |
| Advisory charge | No details shared | No advisory charge |
| Revenue route | No details shared | Fees from affiliate trades, order-flow payments, and stock lending |
| Filed starting scale | Not shown | $377; nine nondiscretionary accounts; none with discretion |
The math suggests this is an engagement play, not a typical robo-adviser model. A 1% fee on the listed assets would bring in under $4, and Kraken doesn’t collect any advisory fee. According to its brochure, what affiliates may get are transaction charges, payment for order flow — compensation for routing trades — and income from lending out fully paid shares. More balances and more trading is the real business target.
Kraken Chief Data Officer Kamo Asatryan told CNBC the company’s AI efforts are aimed at closing the gap between retail and pro traders. “AI is going to help everyday people respond to market conditions the way our most active traders respond,” he said. Asatryan also said easier language tools could let ordinary users trade more like high-frequency traders, usually known for computer-generated order speed. BigGo Finance
Kraken wasn’t the first mover here. Coinbase Global NASDAQ:COIN rolled out Coinbase for Agents in June, giving outside agents the ability to trade crypto and send payments under set limits. Coinbase plans to add stocks and index funds next. Robinhood Markets NASDAQ:HOOD already connects customers with third-party agents through accounts that can study markets, rebalance, and trade automatically. Kraken is hoping that dropping its agent directly inside a goal-based retail app, next to its registered adviser, will be simpler for users than linking up with an outside agent.
Kraken’s move goes back before the AI push. The company started offering commission-free trading for more than 11,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs in April 2025. Oppenheimer’s Owen Lau called it “another step taken by Kraken to become a full-service app” covering both traditional finance and crypto. Reuters
The brochure spells out the risk. Kraken says big language models can make mistakes or output things they can’t back up, and the agent’s reading of a mandate might drift from what the client meant. Each quarter, the firm reviews its recommendations, sometimes checking samples. But if the risk profile is out of date, the model wrong, or the market moves quickly, there could be bad trades, surprise taxes or losses before the client gets around to changing the mandate. That could invite complaints or even regulators.
U.S. equities are shut for the weekend, and agentic products didn’t look like a fresh earnings story last week. Galaxy Research estimated total crypto market value at $2.28 trillion as of July 10, up 1.57% from a week earlier, with bitcoin up 3.94% for the seven days. Coinbase dropped about 3.9% from its July 2 close to July 10, while Robinhood was down around 0.7%. Those moves had several influences and don’t link directly to Kraken’s news.
| Market measure | Latest cited reading | Period change |
|---|---|---|
| Total crypto-market value | $2.28 trillion | up 1.57% on the week |
| Bitcoin | — | rose 3.94% for the week |
| Coinbase close | $159.07 | down 3.9% since July 2 |
| Robinhood close | $111.97 | down 0.7% since July 2 |
Next week, the market focus is on U.S. macro data, with June CPI out Tuesday, July 14 at 8:30 a.m. EDT and June retail sales hitting Thursday, same time. A high inflation print could send bond yields up and pressure crypto and growth stocks. Softer spending might hurt confidence in retail trading. Kraken hasn’t set a date for its app launch, so these reports are the key near-term market events.
Investors will watch funded accounts, assets on the platform, and transaction volume. Any updates on Autonomous Mode adoption and customer complaints will matter too. Starting at $377, percentage gains look simple. Sticking that growth into steady revenue—without pushing risky trading or piling compliance costs—is the real test.
Related articles: NASDAQ:COIN
