Kraken has named Stavros Vassiliades as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of its European Union operations, placing a veteran from the CFD industry at the helm of its regulated European business. Vassiliades joined Kraken in 2024 from Pepperstone EU, where he served as executive director at the Cyprus-licensed CFD broker. His career centers on retail brokerage compliance and operations rather than cryptocurrency.
The appointment underscores Kraken’s strategic direction in Europe, where it has aggressively recruited CFD and FX professionals to staff its Cyprus entity. The exchange acquired Payward Europe Digital Solutions, a Cyprus investment firm with a MiFID II license that allows passporting across the European Economic Area. Kraken launched crypto perpetuals in May 2025, then expanded to equity index, commodity, and currency futures across 26 European countries in early 2026.
This follows Kraken’s broader push into traditional markets, including its $1.5 billion acquisition of US futures platform NinjaTrader.
FXnCO Insight
Kraken’s hiring of CFD veterans signals its intention to compete directly with traditional brokers for European derivatives traders, not just crypto-native clients.
Source: Finance Magnates