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On 16 October 2025, IG Group Holdings plc completed the sale of Small Exchange Inc to Payward Inc. The transaction valued Small Exchange at $100.0m (£74.9m), with consideration comprising $32.5m (£24.3m) in cash and $67.5m (£50.6m) in Payward stock. This resulted in a post-tax gain of £73.3m and increased Group regulatory capital resources by £22.7m.
| Date | 16 Oct 2025 |
| Time | 07:00:02 |
| Category | Miscellaneous |
| ID | 5408D |
16 October 2025
LEI No: 2138003A5Q1M7ANOUD76
IG GROUP HOLDINGS PLC
Sale of Small Exchange
IG Group Holdings plc ("IG", "the Group") today announces that it has completed the sale of Small Exchange Inc ("Small Exchange") 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 stock1. 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.
Notes
1) GBP-USD exchange rate as at 15 October 2025 of 1.33
2) Equity consideration excluded from Group regulatory capital resources
3) IG's shareholding in zerohash stated on a fully diluted basis (9.3% prior to latest funding round)
Enquiries
IG Group Investor Relations
Martin Price
020 7573 0020
Media
Sodali & Co
020 7100 6451
Kraken
Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world's longest-standing and most secure crypto platforms globally. Kraken clients trade more than 450 digital assets, traditional assets such as U.S. futures and U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and six different national currencies, including GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, CHF, and AUD. Trusted by millions of institutions, professional traders and consumers, Kraken is one of the fastest, most liquid and performant trading platforms available.
Kraken's suite of products and services includes the Kraken App, Kraken Pro, the Krak App, Kraken Institutional, Kraken's on-chain offerings and the Ninja Trader retail trading platform. Across these offerings, clients can buy, sell, stake, earn rewards, send and receive assets, custody holdings, and access advanced trading, derivatives, and portfolio management tools.
Kraken has set the industry standard for transparency and client trust, and it was the first crypto platform to conduct Proof of Reserves. It complies with regulations and laws applicable to its business, while actively protecting client privacy and maintaining the highest security standards.
For more information about Kraken, please visit www.kraken.com.
zerohash
zerohash is the leading infrastructure provider for crypto, stablecoin, and tokenized assets. Its API and embeddable dev-kit enables innovators to easily launch solutions across cross-border payments, commerce, trading, remittance, payroll, tokenization and on/off-ramps.
zerohash has a global regulatory footprint, with regulated entities in the EU, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, and other jurisdictions. In the United States, Zero Hash LLC is a FinCen-registered Money Service Business and a regulated Money Transmitter that can operate in 51 U.S. jurisdictions. Zero Hash LLC and Zero Hash Liquidity Services LLC are licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Zero Hash Trust Company LLC is chartered by the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks as a non-depository trust company. For information about zerohash's global regulatory footprint, please visit FAQ.
zerohash has approximately 200 employees around the globe, with offices in New York, Chicago, North Carolina and Amsterdam.
Small Exchange Inc
Small Exchange is a Designated Contract Market (DCM) registered with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Disclaimer - forward-looking statements
This statement, prepared by IG may contain forward looking about IG and its subsidiaries. Such forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "projects", "estimates", "plans", "anticipates", "targets", "aims", "continues", "expects", "intends", "hopes", "may", "will", "would", "could" or "should" or, in each case, their negative or other various or comparable terminology.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which are beyond IG's control and are based on the Group's beliefs and expectations about future events as of the date the statements are made. If the assumptions on which the Group bases its forward-looking statements change, actual results may differ from those expressed in such statements. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including those set out under "Principal Risks" in the FY25 Group Annual Report for the financial year ended 31 May 2025. The Annual Report can be found on IG's website (www.iggroup.com).
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law and regulation, IG undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
No profit forecasts or estimates
No statement in this announcement is intended as a profit forecast or estimate for any period and should not be construed as such.
About IG
IG Group (LSEG:IGG) provides online trading platforms and educational resources to empower ambitious customers around the globe. Headquartered in the UK, IG Group is a FTSE 250 company that offers customers access to c.19,000 financial markets worldwide.