LONDON: IG Group Holdings plc has completed the sale of Small Exchange Inc to Payward Inc (“Payward”), the parent company of the crypto exchange Kraken.
The transaction values Small Exchange at $100.0m (£74.9m), with the consideration comprising $32.5m (£24.3m) in cash and $67.5m (£50.6m) in Payward stock. The sale results in a post-tax gain of £73.3m and increases Group regulatory capital resources by £22.7m2.
Under the terms of the deal, IG will enter into a partnership agreement with Kraken which includes distributing the new exchange’s products. Details of the new venue’s products will be available in due course.
Breon Corcoran, CEO of IG Group said: “The transaction represents a significant return on the Group’s acquisition of Small Exchange and enables us to collaborate with Kraken on the distribution of new crypto products.”
The transaction builds on recent momentum in the Group’s crypto strategy.
In September 2025, IG announced the acquisition of Independent Reserve, a leading crypto exchange based in Australia. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and remains on track to complete in early 2026. Last month, IG also obtained a cryptoasset licence from the Financial Conduct Authority, enabling the Group to significantly expand its crypto offering to customers in the UK.
Earlier in FY26, IG took part in a new funding round at Zero Hash Holdings LLC (“zerohash”), a leading market infrastructure provider for crypto, stablecoin, and tokenized assets, leaving it with an 8.1% shareholding3. This was one of the largest private market raises in the crypto and stablecoin sector in 2025 and values zerohash at approximately $1bn.