Bloomberg reported Thursday that Payward, Kraken’s parent company, has agreed to acquire stablecoin payments firm Reap Technologies for $600 million through a combination of cash and stock. This announcement was confirmed by Payward and Arjunt Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken.
The deal values Payward at $20 billion, marking Kraken’s first infrastructure acquisition in Asia, as per the report. According to Sethi, this transaction is also the third-largest for the company.
Based in Hong Kong, Reap specializes in providing cross-border and business payment solutions that link traditional financial systems with digital assets. Their focus is primarily on stablecoin-driven settlement processes and B2B payment flows.
“Excluding Europe, Asia represents the fastest-growing market not just in revenue but also in terms of asset-on-platform,” Sethi told Bloomberg. “Reap has already established itself in Asia and can swiftly expand into the U.S. with our collaboration.”
At Consensus Miami 2026 on Tuesday, Sethi mentioned that Kraken is about 80% ready to go public, emphasizing plans for an initial public offering (IPO) as the company initiates a partnership with MoneyGram aimed at addressing crypto’s ‘last mile’ challenge.
This announcement follows Payward’s April 17 agreement to acquire Bitnomial, a digital asset derivatives platform, in a transaction worth up to $550 million. This deal, also cash-and-stock based and valuing the firm at $20 billion, involves Bitnomial, which has been operational for over a decade as the first crypto-native platform to secure all necessary licenses for operating a comprehensive derivatives business in the U.S.
With its regulatory approvals as a designated contract market, derivatives clearing organization, and futures commission merchant, this acquisition significantly expedites Payward’s regulatory groundwork in expanding its U.S. presence.
The Thursday announcement expands Kraken’s reach into Asia, which is rapidly becoming one of the leading regions for crypto adoption and stablecoin activity.
Reap was co-founded by Daren Guo, who previously established Stripe’s Asia-Pacific business, and Kevin Kang, an ex-investment banker, according to their website.