Crypto exchange Kraken is rolling out a feature that automatically executes trades across illiquid or non-existent currency pairs in a single step, removing the need for traders to route manually through intermediary assets.
The product, called Synthetic Pairs, is live on Kraken Pro, the exchange's platform for active traders, and covers more than 10,000 pairs built on 478 existing US dollar spot markets.
The feature works by routing an order through two underlying books inside Kraken's matching engine simultaneously, presenting the result to the user as a single atomic trade, meaning one that either completes in full or not at all.
Kraken says the approach addresses a longstanding friction in crypto trading, where converting between less liquid assets requires splitting a transaction into two sequential orders, each with its own execution window, slippage risk and fee.
The company says the new structure consolidates all of that into one order, one fill and one fee, with each synthetic execution appearing as a single line in a user's trade history.
Supported quote assets span fiat currencies including sterling, euros and Australian dollars, stablecoins including USDT, USDC and DAI, and cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, ether, Solana and XRP, giving traders 21 possible quote currencies in total.
Both market and limit order types are supported, with market orders subject to Kraken's Market Price Protection (MPP) system, a guardrail that prevents execution at prices beyond a defined threshold, and limit orders only filling when the combined depth of the underlying books meets the specified price.
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Synthetic pairs will be marked with an "S" indicator in the Kraken Pro interface to distinguish them from direct markets.
The product is available globally at launch, with Canada excluded.
The recap
- Kraken launches Synthetic Pairs on Kraken Pro, live now.
- Platform offers 10,000+ synthetic pairs across 21 quote assets.
- Trades execute atomically with a single consolidated taker fee.
