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Kraken is rebuilding its mobile app around users' financial goals.
The cryptocurrency exchange is overhauling its app from the ground up to make trading less intimidating for customers who lack the time or expertise to manage their portfolios actively.
In outlining the redesign, Kraken said many trading platforms offer complex tools with little guidance, leaving users with less market knowledge at a disadvantage. It also acknowledged that platforms, including its own, have not done enough to help customers make progress towards their financial aims.
The new version is intended to change how users interact with the app from the moment they open it. Instead of a standard interface, it will ask users what they are working towards and then adapt around those objectives.
Kraken said the software will run continuously in the background, leaving users responsible for final decisions. The app will show users what it is doing and explain why before waiting for approval, according to the company.
Built into the core
A central part of the rollout is Kraken's claim that the redesign is not based on adding an artificial intelligence assistant to an existing product. Instead, the financial intelligence behind the app is being built into the underlying architecture.
That approach reflects a broader shift across consumer finance and trading platforms, as companies seek to simplify decision-making for less-experienced users while responding to growing interest in AI-led tools. In crypto markets, where round-the-clock trading and volatility can make investment decisions harder for retail customers, ease of use has become an important competitive area.
Kraken presented the project as a response to a gap between customers' financial ambitions and the time they can devote to markets. It pointed to goals such as buying a house, saving for retirement, or building a financial cushion. It argued that many users understand those targets but lack the expertise to manage a portfolio around them.
The exchange did not provide a launch date for the updated app, saying only that it is coming soon. It also provided no further technical details on how the embedded intelligence will generate prompts or recommendations, other than that the app will work intelligently in the background.
Advice and risk
Kraken said AI-generated investment recommendations carry risk, including the risk of loss of capital. It added that outside the United States, the service will provide AI-generated investment recommendations and, where selected, discretionary portfolio management.
For US users, investment advice on cryptoassets is provided by Payward Interactive, while Kraken Adviser provides advice on securities, the company said. It added that the businesses are separate legal entities.
Kraken is one of the larger digital asset trading venues globally. Its clients trade more than 200 digital assets and eight fiat currencies, including GBP, EUR, and USD.
Founded in 2011, Kraken was among the first exchanges to offer spot trading with margin, regulated derivatives, and index services. It also said it serves more than 9 million traders and institutions worldwide.
By describing the redesign as the next chapter for its mobile app, Kraken is signalling that the app will play a bigger role in its retail customer engagement. The emphasis on reducing effort while maintaining user control suggests it is trying to broaden its appeal beyond experienced traders to people seeking more guided ways to invest in crypto.
Kraken said the app "does the work, shows you why, and waits for your call."