Crypto Market Update: Kraken Parent Payward to Acquire Derivatives Exchange Bitnomial

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$77,401.45, up by 2.7 percent over the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin spiked to a two month high of roughly US$77,400 on Friday, jumping 5 percent after Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels.

Traditional markets mirrored the crypto surge, with the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) and Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) hitting records, while West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 11 percent to US$84 per barrel.

US President Donald Trump celebrated the news on Truth Social, declaring the strait "open for business," though he maintained that Iranian ships will face a continued blockade until broader terms are fully realized.

Ether (ETH) was priced at US$2,430.74, up by 3 percent over the last 24 hours.

Altcoin price update

• XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.49, up by 2 percent over 24 hours.

• Solana (SOL), in contrast, was trading at US$89.27, down by 0.8 percent over 24 hours.

Today's crypto news to know

Kraken deals US$550 million Bitnomial buyout

Kraken’s parent company, Payward, has agreed to acquire Cheyenne-based derivatives exchange Bitnomial for up to US$550 million. The cash-and-stock deal pins Payward’s overall equity valuation at US$20 billion.

The strategic purchase gives Kraken immediate access to Bitnomial’s infrastructure, which features natively built crypto settlement, collateral management and continuous 24/7 trading markets.

This acquisition is the latest move in an aggressive growth spree for the exchange, which recently snapped up futures platform NinjaTrader for US$1.5 billion, alongside several tokenization and proprietary trading firms.

The firm is also in the process of maintaining its confidential initial public offering filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ahead of an anticipated public listing.

Canary tests SEC limits with PEPE ETF filing

Asset manager Canary Capital has formally submitted an S-1 registration statement to the SEC to launch a spot PEPE exchange-traded fund (ETF). If approved, the fund would hold the popular frog-themed token directly, maintaining only a fractional Ether balance to cover associated network and transaction fees.

Sitting as the 45th largest digital asset with a market capitalization hovering around US$1.48 billion, PEPE boasts enough liquidity to justify an institutional wrapper in the eyes of Canary’s leadership.

Circle faces class-action heat over US$285 million DeFi exploit

Stablecoin giant Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) is in legal crosshairs after disgruntled Drift Protocol investors filed a class-action lawsuit regarding a devastating US$285 million hack.

The controversy stems from an April 1 exploit on the Solana-based DeFi platform, during which attackers drained massive amounts of capital using weaponized administrative transfers.

The lawsuit specifically targets an eight hour window where the hackers successfully bridged US$232 million in USDC from Solana to Ethereum via Circle's cross-chain transfer protocol. Plaintiffs argue that Circle was negligent in failing to freeze the stolen funds while the cross-chain transfers were executing.

Circle has fiercely defended its position, with executives including CEO Jeremy Allaire arguing that unilaterally freezing assets without a formal law enforcement or court order creates a dangerous moral hazard.

HIVE Digital upsizes senior notes offering

HIVE Digital Technologies (TSXV:HIVE,NASDAQ:HIVE) announced the upsizing and pricing of a private offering of unsecured notes. The company is now selling US$100 million in 0 percent exchangeable senior notes due in 2031, up from an initial US$75 million, with an option for an additional US$15 million.

The deal is set to close on April 21.

Net proceeds are set to land between US$95 million and US$109.5 million, with the cash earmarked for general corporate uses, capital investment and data center development.

On the dilution front, HIVE is hedging with about US$17.2 million in cash‑settled capped calls, intended to soften the impact on the share count if the notes ultimately convert.

Additionally, HIVE announced conditional approval from the TSX to list its common shares, with trading on the main board expected to start around April 30 while the stock exits the TSX Venture Exchange.