Kraken Adds Capitalise.ai For No-Code Automation

Key Takeaways

• Kraken acquired Capitalise.ai, adding natural-language trading to its Kraken Pro platform.

• Capitalise.ai enables no-code strategy creation across various markets using plain English commands.

• The crypto industry is rapidly embracing AI, with major acquisitions by Chainalysis, xPortal, Tether, and MARA Holdings.

• Partnerships like Coinbase + Perplexity AI show alternative paths to AI integration without full acquisition.

• AI is becoming a core competitive advantage in trading, compliance, and infrastructure across the crypto space.

Capitalise.ai Brings No-Code Automation To Kraken

Natural-Language Trading Made Simple

Founded in 2015, Capitalise.ai developed a no-code platform that enables users to create, test, and execute trading strategies using plain English commands.

This technology removes the need for traditional programming, allowing traders to automate strategies more intuitively.

Source: Kraken

Once integrated into Kraken Pro later this year, the platform will empower users to:

• Design trading strategies using natural language

• Backtest those strategies before going live

• Execute trades automatically across multiple asset classes

This includes equities, crypto, forex, futures, and options, making the tool versatile across both digital and traditional markets.

Shannon Kurtas, Kraken’s Head of Exchange, said:

“This acquisition gives Kraken Pro clients a new way to act on ideas in real time. It makes advanced strategies more accessible to a broader range of users.”

A Continued AI Strategy

The acquisition of Capitalise.ai follows Kraken’s $1.5 billion purchase of U.S. futures trading platform NinjaTrader in March 2025, marking a deliberate strategy to strengthen its tech stack and broaden its product offerings.

Crypto Companies Are Racing To Acquire AI Startups

A Rapid Shift Toward AI

Kraken isn’t alone. Other crypto-focused firms, from exchanges to analytics providers and mining companies, are aggressively acquiring AI startups.

This is driven by the desire to enhance trading automation, improve compliance, and scale infrastructure efficiently.

Chainalysis Buys AI Startup Alterya

In January 2025, Chainalysis acquired Alterya, an AI-powered fraud detection startup, in a deal reportedly worth $150 million.

Alterya’s real-time monitoring and anomaly detection capabilities are now being used to help banks and regulators flag suspicious crypto activity.

xPortal Acquires Alphalink For DeFi UX

Later in January, Web3 super-app xPortal acquired Alphalink, a German AI startup focused on mobile interfaces.

The move brought Alphalink’s development team in-house, accelerating xPortal’s work on AI-driven DeFi tools and digital identity solutions.

Bigger Bets on AI Infrastructure

As the AI arms race continues, crypto firms are moving into infrastructure-level plays:

• Tether and Rumble announced a joint $1.17 billion bid to acquire Northern Data, a German provider of GPU cloud services and data centers. Tether committed to long-term GPU purchases to support AI development.

Source: Rumble

• MARA Holdings acquired a 64% stake in Exaion, valued at $168 million. Exaion, a subsidiary of EDF, partners with tech giants like Nvidia and Deloitte, and supports high-performance computing needs for blockchain and AI projects. MARA also holds an option to increase its stake to 75% by 2027.

Not Everyone Is Buying, Some Choose Partnerships

While many firms are acquiring startups outright, others are choosing to partner. In July, Coinbase announced a collaboration with Perplexity AI, feeding its COIN50 index into the AI-powered search engine.

The integration represents a shift toward embedding real-time crypto data into conversational AI tools.

FAQ

What is Capitalise.ai?

Capitalise.ai is a no-code trading automation platform that allows users to write trading strategies using natural language. It supports various asset classes including crypto, equities, and forex.

How will Capitalise.ai be integrated into Kraken?

Kraken plans to integrate Capitalise.ai into its Kraken Pro trading platform later in 2025. Users will be able to design, backtest, and automate trades using natural language without writing any code.

Why are crypto companies acquiring AI startups?

Crypto companies are acquiring AI startups to enhance automation, improve compliance tools, optimize infrastructure, and deliver better user experiences. AI is becoming essential to stay competitive in the fast-evolving financial technology landscape.

What’s the difference between acquisition and partnership in this space?

Acquisitions give crypto companies full control over the technology and talent, while partnerships allow for faster integration without ownership. Coinbase’s deal with Perplexity AI is an example of the latter.