Kraken parent company Payward has agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based stablecoin payments infrastructure provider Reap Technologies in a $600 million cash-and-stock deal, according to a Bloomberg report Thursday. The acquisition, which values Payward stock at $20 billion, marks Kraken’s first infrastructure acquisition in Asia and is the company’s third-largest deal to date.
Arjunt Sethi, Payward and Kraken co-CEO, confirmed the move to Bloomberg, emphasizing the strategic importance of Asia. “If you take Europe out, the fastest growing market is Asia, not just revenue but also asset-on-platform,” Sethi said, adding that Reap’s existing Asian footprint will enable rapid expansion into the U.S. through Kraken.
Reap provides cross-border and business payment infrastructure that bridges traditional finance and digital assets, with a core focus on stablecoin-powered settlement. The acquisition follows Payward’s April 17 deal to purchase U.S. derivatives platform Bitnomial for up to $550 million, part of Kraken’s broader push into institutional-grade services ahead of a potential initial public offering. On Tuesday, Sethi announced at Consensus Miami 2026 that the exchange is “about 80% ready” to go public.
The Reap deal signals Kraken’s intent to build proprietary stablecoin capabilities, potentially reducing reliance on third‑party issuers like Tether and Circle. It also reflects a growing trend among major exchanges to vertically integrate stablecoin infrastructure, following similar moves by Binance and Coinbase. Neither Kraken nor Reap has officially filed regulatory confirmations as of press time, but the transaction underscores the accelerating institutionalization of the crypto payments landscape.
