Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has expanded its services in the United Kingdom with the launch of derivatives trading. The company is targeting professional investors in what constitutes the company’s second-largest market. The new offering has been gradually introduced in recent weeks and is now available to all qualifying clients who complete a specific onboarding process.
Kraken’s new offering is only for professional clients
Access to these derivative products is restricted to “professional clients” as defined by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Kraken has identified derivatives as a key growth area. These products account for approximately 70% to 75% of total cryptocurrency trading volume across the market.
According to Alexia Theodorou, Kraken’s head of derivatives, while spot and derivatives volumes are currently balanced on the platform, “crypto derivatives are growing at a faster pace than spot” in the broader market.
“That’s why we are doubling down on derivatives, given the trends and ratios that we see as more and more institutional clients are entering the space,” Theodorou explained. The top cryptocurrency exchange considers it a big investment from their end in the UK.
The derivatives services are being offered through the Kraken Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF). It is a regulated platform operated by Crypto Facilities, which became the first crypto firm to secure an MTF license from the FCA in 2020. Kraken acquired Crypto Facilities in 2019 in a deal valued at over $100 million. Clients will access these services through Kraken’s futures broker based in Bermuda.
Arkham Intelligence has unveiled a new feature allowing users to track the wallets of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) on X (formerly Twitter).
This development comes amid a flurry of new meme coins, capitalizing on token launchpads for easy launches.
New Arkham Feature Lets Users Track Influencers’ Token Holdings
The update, announced in a recent post, introduces the “Key Opinion Leader (KOL) Label.” It tracks the wallets of influencers with over 100,000 followers on X.
“Influencers with more than 100K+ followers on Twitter/X are now tagged on Arkham with a new label: Key Opinion Leader,” read the announcement.
This means investors can monitor whether influencers genuinely back the tokens they promote or if their endorsements are merely paid advertising. The move has sparked widespread debate within the crypto community, particularly concerning its impact on influencer-endorsed meme coins.
“Biggest scammer on top! Now everyone can watch your wallets. But they should know y’all have multiple ones,” one user wrote.
The introduction of Arkham’s KOL Label comes amid increasing concerns over the reliability of influencer-backed tokens. A recent report revealed that 76% of influencer-endorsed tokens fail to deliver.
Specifically, their value plummeted by more than 90% within just three months.
As BeInCrypto reported, the research suggested earning up to $399 per promotional tweet, incentivizing certain influencers to prioritize financial gain over credibility.
It also showed that many promoted tokens lack fundamental utility and community engagement, leading to inevitable crashes.
“Influencers with over 200,000 followers tend to have the worst performance. The larger the influencer’s following, the lower the performance of the meme coins they promote,” the report claims.
Success Rate of Influencer Predictions based on Followership. Source: CoinWire Research
With Arkham’s new tracking feature, investors can now scrutinize whether influencers hold the tokens they endorse. This could provide greater transparency in an industry plagued by misinformation and deceptive marketing tactics.
“Interesting move—transparency meets influence,” a user on X remarked.
The pattern mirrors previous crypto fads, where early investors profit while latecomers bear the brunt of financial losses. Arkham’s new tool could expose questionable practices, distinguishing genuine endorsements from misleading promotions.
By tracking influencers’ wallet activities, users can identify whether influencers hold the tokens they promote, indicating a true conviction. They could also spot red flags, such as influencers dumping tokens shortly after promoting them.
Experts, including Tron founder Justin Sun, emphasize the importance of fundamentals, tokenomics, and risk management for investors within the volatile meme coin market.
“I will check on the real social engagement. Are those likes real, or it’s just general bullshit? Do they have lots of influence, and the people really believe them? Also, I will see the founders, see their material, and see the memes they made and the videos they made. I will see if this is the right video and the right social engagement,” Sun elaborated.
These approaches reflect the importance of caution and due diligence instead of relying solely on influencer endorsement.
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continued their inflow streak on Monday, raking in over $500 million in fresh capital and marking seven consecutive days of positive flows.
The sustained momentum reflects the resurgence in investor appetite for BTC exposure through regulated investment vehicles, even amid broader market volatility.
BTC ETFs See Steady Inflows
On Monday, BTC spot ETFs attracted fresh investor demand, recording $591.29 million in net inflows and extending their winning streak to a seventh consecutive day. This happened as the leading coin sought stable support above the $94,000 price.
Total Bitcoin Spot ETF Net Inflow. Source: SosoValue
Once again, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led the charge, recording the largest inflow among its peers. The fund saw inflows totaling $970.93 million, bringing its total cumulative net inflows to $42.17 billion.
ARKB, the BTC spot ETF managed by Ark Invest and 21Shares, recorded the largest net outflow yesterday. On Monday, $226.30 million exited the fund. Despite this setback, ARKB’s total historical net inflow remains at $2.88 billion.
Rising Open Interest and Bearish Options Sentiment Set the Stage
Open interest across BTC’s futures market has risen by 2% over the past day, signaling an increase in outstanding futures contracts. The coin’s price has noted a modest 0.14% uptick during the same period.
A rise in open interest indicates that more traders are opening new positions rather than closing existing ones. This bullish signal can strengthen BTC’s price rally in the short term.
Meanwhile, as of this writing, BTC’s funding rate is 0%, indicating a balanced market between long and short positions. A neutral funding rate like this suggests no immediate dominance by bulls or bears in the coin’s perpetual futures market.
This reduces the likelihood of sudden liquidations, meaning any major price movement would likely need fresh momentum rather than being triggered by leverage-driven squeezes.
However, the sentiment among BTC options traders is clear. Today’s high demand for puts indicates a more cautious or bearish outlook among BTC options traders.
The growing interest in these bearish contracts suggests that many investors anticipate a potential pullback in BTC’s price, despite the recent inflows into Bitcoin ETFs.
Until a clear breakout or breakdown occurs, BTC may continue to consolidate within the narrow range.
The Layer-1 blockchain platform Initia launched its mainnet and airdrop on April 24. The official token is now live in the market and is gaining significant attention due to the new launch and hype around the crypto project. Interestingly, the blockchain platform allocated a significant amount of the airdrop to eligible users. Let’s discuss how to claim.
Initia Mainnet Live, But Airdrop Closes in 30 Days
The Initia mainnet launch is part of the blockchain project’s vision of building an Interwoven Economy. For the same, they have launched the INIT token with a fixed supply of 1 billion, and these will play a significant role in supporting growth, security, and governance.
Interestingly, 50M INIT tokens are allocated to the airdrop, which is 5% of the total supply. These tokens will be distributed among network testers, advocates, and early users of the platform. The Initia airdrop is live, but open for 30 days only, past which the unclaimed tokens will be unavailable.
The eligibility is decided based on the users’ testnet participation, social contribution, and other factors. Interestingly, in contrast to most crypto airdrops of 2025, INIT’s performance was least affected.
The token was launched with an initial price of $0.62 and surged to a high of $0.93 after a 50% rally. The uptrend is still maintained, as the token currently trades at $0.87 with a market capitalization of $132.09M, making it the perfect time to claim.
How to Claim Initia Airdrop tokens?
Along with the Initia mainnet launch, the token has become a hit among investors, as the claim rate has topped more than 80% in the 24 hours. Various crypto analysts have pointed out the reasons behind this success, including long open registration periods, multiple account linking options, clear communication, and much more.
Although most have already claimed the INIT airdrop token, the remaining could follow these steps:
Connect the crypto wallet (the same one that was involved in the testnet activities)
Follow the steps provided on screen
Pay gas fees and confirm the transaction
The Initia token will be transferred to the wallet.
It is important to note that these tokens would not be available after 30 days, i.e., 24 May. Investors must claim their tokens before that. Interestingly, after the Initia mainnet, another mainnet is to go live soon, as the R2 testnet launched. Stay updated.
