Kraken Institutional partners with Centrifuge to support RWAs in qualified custody, starting with Janus Henderson’s JAAA

Kraken Institutional has partnered with Centrifuge to offer tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) in its qualified custody service. The first asset available under the arrangement is JAAA, the tokenized version of Janus Henderson’s AAA CLO strategy, an investment-grade, yield-bearing fund.

Under the partnership, institutional clients can hold a tokenized position in Kraken Custody and use it as active collateral without moving assets or adding a new counterparty. The tokenized assets can be deployed to borrow funds, trade via Kraken Prime, or be placed into a yield-earning vault. Settlement operates 24/7, bypassing traditional market hours and T+2 delays.

“Janus Henderson is committed to being the premier provider of institutional quality tokenized products in DeFi,” said Nick Cherney, Head of Innovation at Janus Henderson. “That vision can only be realized alongside partners like Kraken and Centrifuge, who are similarly committed to continuing to innovate and lead as financial services increasingly move onchain.”

Centrifuge, one of the early and largest platforms focused on tokenization, provides the infrastructure to bring regulated fund services onchain while ensuring compatibility across the DeFi ecosystem. Bhaji Illuminati, CEO of Centrifuge, commented: “Tokenization only matters if assets can be put to work. Bringing JAAA into Kraken Custody means institutions can hold, earn, and deploy tokenized assets within a single framework.”

Gregory Barasia, Head of Asset Management at Kraken Institutional, highlighted the strategic importance of the move: “Bringing traditional financial instruments into the Kraken ecosystem is a key priority as traditional and next-generation financial systems continue to converge.” He added that the firm expects to expand the range of traditional products available to institutions.

The partnership is ongoing, and more tokenized assets are expected to be added to Kraken Custody over time. Kraken Institutional positions the offering as a next-generation utility for institutional treasury management, blending traditional finance with crypto-native functionality.