A major exchange’s parent company completes the acquisition of Bitnomial and receives the U.S.-and-Canada crypto derivatives brand license/approval.

PANews May 4 reported, citing The Block, that Payward, a major exchange’s parent company, has completed its acquisition of Bitnomial, thereby obtaining the full derivatives branding approvals issued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), including licenses for a futures commission merchant (FCM), a designated contract market (DCM), and a derivatives clearing organization (DCO).

Bitnomial is a crypto-native exchange headquartered in Chicago, holding three types of licenses issued by the CFTC, and able to operate a full-stack domestic digital-asset derivatives business.

The acquisition is expected to be valued at up to $550 million, including cash and stock, with a valuation of $20 billion for Payward. Payward plans to expand the Bitnomial team and continue to operate its derivatives business under the existing licenses and regulatory framework. In addition, Payward disclosed that it previously received a $200 million investment from Deutsche Börse Group and is preparing for a potential public listing.

Earlier, it was reported that Payward planned to acquire Bitnomial for $550 million to obtain a full derivatives stack under U.S. licenses.