Share this article
Digital Currency Exchange Kraken Acquires Bitcoin Buying Service
San Francisco-based digital currency exchange has acquired wallet funding service Glidera.
By Stan Higgins
Updated Sep 11, 2021, 12:45 p.m. Published Dec 13, 2016, 5:41 p.m.
San Francisco-based digital currency exchange has acquired wallet funding service Glidera.
The acquisition of Glidera, the terms of which were not disclosed, is the latest for Kraken, which has spent the past year snapping up other startups in the exchange space.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
In January, Kraken announced that it had bought New York-based exchange Coinsetter, which itself had moved to acquire CAVirtex in April 2015. In June, the exchange expanded its European footprint when it announced the purchase of CleverCoin, based in the Netherlands.
As part of the integration of the two services, Glidera – which enables users to purchase bitcoin via their bank accounts and send the funds to the wallet of their choice – will be rebranded under the name “Kraken Direct”. The service offered by Glidera will, by extension, be open to Kraken’s international customers as well.
In a statement, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell said that the deal “rounds out a fantastic year for Kraken”.
He went on to say:
“We’ve seen incredible growth throughout 2016 across all areas of our business. We’re looking forward to an even better 2017 with this acquisition and our new ‘Kraken Direct’ service playing a key role.”
The global exchange saw acquisitions elsewhere this year, including the purchase of BitInvest by Brazil-based Foxbit. In February, Finnish bitcoin broker Prasos announced that it had bought Coinmotion for an undisclosed amount.
Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Kraken.
Image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
Більше для вас
Bitcoin Rebounds to $93K From Post-Fed Lows, but Altcoins Remain Under Pressure
Downward pressure on bitcoin is losing steam, with the market stabilizing but not yet out of the woods, said one analyst.
Що варто знати:
- Bitcoin rebounded from a sharp early selloff on Thursday to trade above $93,000 shortly after the close of U.S. stocks.
- The late-day gain in bitcoin came alongside a rebound in the Nasdaq from big morning losses; the tech index closed with just a 0.25% loss.
- Downward pressure on bitcoin is losing steam, said one analyst, but the market is not yet out of the woods.
Top Stories
