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Kraken Pro has introduced a significant platform update that allows its EU customers to trade crypto perpetual futures. This update makes Kraken the first crypto exchange to comply with MiFID II, allowing traders to use BTC, ETH, and some stablecoins as collateral in futures trading.
The newly renovated Kraken Pro EU Futures platform providing traders with greater flexibility to secure crypto derivatives and make the entire trading process more capital efficient. We discuss the impact of Kraken’s collateral futures update and how it will redefine crypto futures regulation in Europe.
Raising the Bar for Crypto Futures Trading Regulated by the EU
With strict regulations governing the trading of perpetual futures, Europe requires exchanges to obtain the appropriate licenses to ensure that traders are adequately protected. In February 2025, Kraken announced that it obtained a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) license in the EU through a recent acquisition.
Later in the year, the exchange further strengthened its European compliance by securing a Union Market in the Regulation of Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI).
Now, Kraken Pro offers the first MiFID-regulated perpetual futures collateralized by cryptocurrencies. This ongoing expansion of launching new crypto products with strong regulatory compliance highlights Kraken’s commitment to providing secure and transparent trading services that align with EU standards.
With Kraken finding success in Europe, regulators in the United States and Asia will seek to monitor the region’s progress in building collateral crypto trading policies.
How Crypto Collateral Works in Futures Trading
Many crypto futures trading platforms in Europe they limit the collateralization of futures to fiat currencies, requiring traders without fiat holdings to either convert into their crypto assets or convert them. Kraken’s crypto future EU update solves this problem by allowing users to post BTC, ETH, or select stablecoins as margin.
With crypto collateral futures, traders no longer have to convert their crypto to fiat, saving on conversion fees and reducing settlement delays. All collateralized positions remain margined in USD for consistency across the Kraken Pro platform.
For a clearer understanding of how collateral encryption benefits traders, we outline two use cases:
- Hedging strategies: When short-term volatility is expected, Bitcoin holders can post their BTC as collateral for a short BTC/USDT perpetual futures position, potentially offsetting losses while maintaining Bitcoin exposure.
- Direct trades with stablecoins: Traders waiting for ETH to rise can use their stablecoins as collateral to support a long BTC/USD futures position without needing to convert crypto to fiat.
Key benefits of crypto-collateralized futures on Kraken Pro
Here’s how traders can profit from crypto-collateral futures with the Kraken Pro platform:
- Use cryptocurrency as margin: Supports futures collateralized BTC, ETH, and select stablecoins to open futures positions.
- Greater business flexibility: Access to different types of assets to support crypto derivatives.
- Maintain market exposure: Open trades keeping your crypto assets, benefiting from the price increase in the cryptocurrency market.
- Cross-asset leverage: Trade futures on traditional assets backed by your cryptocurrencies.
- Efficient use of capital: Skip fiat conversions to reduce costs and processing time.
On the Kraken exchange, traders will also benefit from the platform’s deep liquidity, professional-grade trading interface and responsive performance. Learn more about the features of the platform through our Kraken Review.
A First Compliance Futures Exchange for EU Traders
Kraken remains the most reliable crypto futures platform in the EU, still following regulatory standards. With its MiFID II compliant model, the exchange ensures that every futures position follows established financial guidelines. This includes own custodian of crypto security through segregated fund management and independent Proof-of-Reserves audits.
In addition, Kraken Pro’s versatile collateral support allows users to trade futures with up to 10x leverage and post BTC, ETH, stablecoins and EUR as margin. Both web and mobile platforms support the new crypto-collateralized futures update, with a consistent experience across interfaces.
In general, the update of the Kraken EU crypto future is part of the exchange’s global expansion and region-by-region compliance strategy. This method ensures that Kraken complies with local financial regulations before releasing new crypto trading features.
Step-by-Step Guide to Trading with Crypto Collateral in Kraken Pro
Here’s how you can start trading crypto-collateralized futures on the Kraken Pro interface:
- Complete verification: : Visit Kraken and verify your account under Kraken EU.
- Transfer crypto: Deposit BTC, ETH, or stablecoins to your spot wallet.
- Select the collateral: Choose your preferred collateral token when opening a trade.
- Open a futures position: Start perpetual crypto trading with up to 10x leverage.
Thanks to the intransigence of Kraken Pro security codeevery trade is a transparent and complete experience for all users.
How Kraken Pro enables traders to build wealth
Kraken Pro continues its global expansion as the first MiFID exchange to offer crypto-collateralized futures in the EU. This achievement marks another milestone for the exchange, further solidifying its mission to empower merchants through comprehensive and accessible innovation.
In the new era of cryptocurrency finance, Kraken aims to remain the market leader by offering a transparent and flexible trading environment for everyone. Now that regulated crypto collateral is available to EU traders, Kraken Pro has set the standard for top-tier crypto futures trading.
