The Small Exchange

What The Small Exchange does

The Small Exchange, Inc. is a CFTC-registered Designated Contract Market (DCM) headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, that operates a regulated US derivatives trading venue for small-sized futures and options contracts. Founded in 2017, the company's core product framework is built on three design principles: "Small" (reduced contract sizes for capital efficiency versus stocks and traditional futures), "Standard" (uniform tick sizes and expiration dates across all listed products), and "Simple" (holistic representations of financial markets to reduce learning curve). The flagship product is the Small S5C Equity Index Futures, with the platform functioning as the matching and clearing infrastructure layer rather than a direct-to-trader brokerage.

The company monetizes primarily through transaction fees on derivatives trades executed on its DCM, with revenue mechanics dependent on trading volume across retail self-serve users, clearing member firms, and liquidity providers participating in the Liquidity Provider Incentive Program. Its customer base spans retail traders seeking capital-efficient alternatives to equities, clearing and corporate member firms that distribute Small Exchange markets, and institutional market makers. Historically the company raised approximately $29 million in disclosed funding from investors including Peak 6, tastylive, Citadel, Jump Capital, Interactive Brokers Group, and PhillipCapital, with operations conducted from its principal office at 222 North LaSalle St., Ste 400 in Chicago.

Following its October 2025 acquisition by Payward Inc. (parent of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken) for $100 million from prior owner IG Group, The Small Exchange operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary within Kraken's broader financial infrastructure platform. The acquisition positions the DCM as Kraken's regulated US derivatives venue, intended to integrate alongside other acquired platforms (NinjaTrader, Breakout, Capitalise) to form a unified multi-asset trading ecosystem spanning traditional and crypto markets.

Name

The Small Exchange

Legal name

Small Exchange, Inc.

Website

https://thesmallexchange.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Small Exchange is a CFTC-registered Designated Contract Market in Chicago that operates a regulated US futures and options venue offering small-sized, standardized contracts for retail traders, clearing members, and liquidity providers; it was acquired by Payward Inc. (Kraken) in October 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Futures and Options Exchange Platform

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Listed Derivatives CCPs (Futures & Options) (FSAFAFAA)

Keywords

• Futures exchange
• Designated contract market
• Derivatives trading
• Small futures contracts
• CFTC regulated platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Derivatives Trading Fees: Transaction-based revenue from futures and options trading executed on the Small Exchange DCM platform. Traders pay fees per trade executed.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Small Exchange operates a CFTC-registered Designated Contract Market (DCM) that offers small-sized futures and options products designed to make derivatives trading more accessible to retail traders. The platform standardizes contract tick sizes and expiration dates across all products to simplify trading, and serves both individual traders directly and institutional participants (clearing firms, corporate members, liquidity providers) as partners and market makers.

Product overview

The Small Exchange is a Designated Contract Market (DCM) registered with the CFTC that offers a unified platform for trading small-sized futures and options products. The core product line includes Small S5C Equity Index Futures and related options contracts, all designed around the principles of being 'small' (reduced contract size for capital efficiency), 'standard' (shared tick size and expiration dates across products), and 'simple' (holistic representations of financial markets). The company operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Payward Inc. (Kraken's parent company) following its acquisition in October 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Small S5C Equity Index Futures Equity index futures contract with reduced (small) contract size offering capital efficiency for retail traders while retaining standard market characteristics. Listed and traded on The Small Exchange DCM.
• Small Exchange Options Contracts Options contracts traded on The Small Exchange DCM, sharing standardized tick sizes and expiration dates with the Small futures product family, designed for retail accessibility.
• Small Exchange Trading Platform The regulated DCM platform that lists and matches orders in Small futures and options products; operated by Small Exchange, Inc. and accessed by retail traders through clearing and non-clearing member firms.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and former_parent.

• Payward Inc. (Kraken)coreOthers · 1 October 2025Small Exchange was acquired by Payward Inc., parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, for $100 million. The acquisition enables Kraken to operate a regulated futures and options venue under CFTC oversight, creating a fully US-native derivatives platform. Small Exchange operates as a standalone CFTC-registered Designated Contract Market under the Kraken/Payward corporate umbrella.
• IG Groupformer_parentOthersIG Group sold Small Exchange Inc. to Payward Inc. for $100 million in October 2025. Prior to the acquisition, Small Exchange was part of IG Group's portfolio, having been sold to IG in a previous transaction. The disposal enhanced IG's crypto capabilities and regulatory capital.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• CME Group: The dominant US futures exchange operator, listing micro- and e-mini equity index futures that compete head-to-head with Small Exchange's S5C product. Comparable on regulated derivatives venue operations, vastly larger scale.
• Cboe Global Markets: Operates regulated US exchanges for futures and options, including VIX and equity index products. Overlaps directly with Small Exchange's listed derivatives venue business model and customer base.
• Interactive Brokers: Major retail and institutional brokerage with extensive futures and options execution capabilities; also an investor in Small Exchange. Competes for the same retail derivatives trader and acts as a distribution channel partner.
• Binance.US: US-regulated crypto trading venue with growing derivatives offering; competes for the same modern retail trader audience and overlaps with Kraken/Small Exchange in US crypto-derivatives positioning.

Direct peers

• tastytrade (IG Group): Former sister company under IG Group ownership; retail-focused futures and options brokerage. Overlapping retail trader customer base, educational content strategy, and product positioning around accessible derivatives.
• LedgerX (MIAX Futures): CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange and clearing organization, now part of MIAX. Directly comparable as a smaller, regulated US derivatives venue serving institutional and professional crypto derivatives traders.
• NinjaTrader: Retail-focused futures trading platform; acquired by Kraken alongside Small Exchange as part of a unified US derivatives platform strategy. Strong product and customer overlap in retail futures trading infrastructure.
• Bitnomial: CFTC-registered DCM and clearing organization offering US-regulated crypto derivatives. Directly comparable as a small, regulated derivatives exchange competing for the same retail and institutional crypto-derivatives flow.
• Coinbase Derivatives: CFTC-regulated futures exchange focused on smaller-sized crypto derivatives contracts. Closely comparable in product philosophy (smaller, accessible contracts on a CFTC-registered venue) and competitive overlap post-Kraken acquisition.

Emerging players

• Robinhood: Retail-first broker expanding into futures via Robinhood Derivatives; comparable target customer (modern retail traders) and platform-led distribution model for accessible derivatives products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/small_exchange
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC5pAsul3H_7FYuPmZscClrA
• Facebookfacebook.com/small_exchange
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-small-exchange

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Small Exchange