Kraken is nearing a $1.5 billion deal for U.S. futures trading platform NinjaTrader, according to a Wall Street Journal report . The deal could be a way for the crypto exchange to move into another asset class and increase its users, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The report added that Kraken could announce the deal as soon as Thursday and that NinjaTrader would remain a standalone platform under Kraken. Kraken and NinjaTrader did not immediately respond to CoinDesk's request for comment.