Kraken’s SPAC is hunting for a crypto deal — and it could be big.
KRAKacquisition Corp., a blank‑check company sponsored by an affiliate of crypto exchange Kraken, is on the lookout for an acquisition target that could command a valuation “as much as $10 billion,” director Ravi Tanuku told Decrypt. The firm — formed in January and backed by a $345 million public offering completed that month — now has a two‑year window to identify and merge with a private company, the standard SPAC timeline.
Tanuku cautioned the $10 billion figure is a rough upper bound: KRAKacquisition’s eventual deal could be closer to $2 billion. Still, the wide range signals flexibility: the SPAC is focused on bringing small‑ and mid‑cap crypto‑adjacent firms into the public markets at a time when traditional finance is paying more attention to certain digital‑asset themes.
“The market is clearly paying up for those and starting to realize there’s big changes afoot,” Tanuku said, referring to rising Wall Street interest in stablecoins and tokenization. He added the SPAC is scouting targets across crypto, stablecoins, DeFi, payments and related areas — places where tokenization and payments innovation could meet mainstream demand.
A quick primer: SPACs are shell companies that take private companies public via a reverse merger, giving a faster route to listing than a traditional IPO.
KRAKacquisition’s search dovetails with Kraken’s own plans. The exchange has reportedly been preparing for a public offering this year — it confidentially filed a registration statement with the SEC in November — and last year raised $800 million in a private round that valued it at roughly $20 billion. Tanuku described the SPAC as a strategic investment vehicle for Kraken, one that could economically align a partner via a meaningful stake and by lending Kraken’s brand.
KRAKacquisition’s regulatory filing also frames the opportunity against macro trends: the registration statement notes inflation and a decline in the U.S. dollar’s purchasing power have bolstered “hard assets as hedges,” pointing to Bitcoin as an example of that thesis.
Bottom line: Kraken’s SPAC gives the exchange an additional lever to shape the crypto public‑markets landscape — from helping smaller projects list to potentially anchoring tokenization and stablecoin plays with meaningful capital and brand support.
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