Kraken parent buys Hong Kong fintech Reap for $600m

Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, has agreed to buy Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies for US$600 million in cash and stock, as it expands its stablecoin and business payments infrastructure in Asia.

Reap provides cross-border and business payment services that connect traditional financial systems with digital assets.

The deal will add business-to-business (B2B) products including card issuance and stablecoin payments, said Arjun Sethi, Payward’s co-CEO.

Sethi said Payward is issuing stock at a US$20 billion valuation.

The deal follows its April agreement to buy crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial for up to US$550 million.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Reap is a profitable fintech with regulatory approvals

Reap’s main product is the Reap Card, a secured Visa corporate credit card backed by traditional currency or USDC, a US dollar-pegged stablecoin. It targets underserved businesses including Web3 companies and startups 1.
That setup rests on regulatory approvals. Reap holds a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator, for its Singapore entity. The company also says it is licensed and regulated in Hong Kong and Mexico 2, 3.
Reap reached profitability in 2025 after processing volume grew eightfold in the two years through the end of 2023 4.
More than 22,000 businesses use its services globally. Named clients include Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong digital assets company, Amber Group, a crypto financial services firm, and Trust Wallet, a crypto wallet app 4, 1.

The deal adds stablecoin payments infrastructure

The purchase would deepen crypto exchanges’ move beyond trading into payment tools for everyday business activity.
Payward is acquiring a business aimed at B2B stablecoin payments. One research report found monthly volume climbed from under US$100 million in early 2023 to more than US$3 billion by 2025 5.
Reap would give Payward a licensed operating foothold in Hong Kong and Singapore. That fits Reap’s twin-base plan, with Hong Kong as its global hub and Singapore as its Southeast Asia hub 6, 2.
Its products combine stablecoin funding and settlement with card and payment rails. That hybrid model could push traditional payment firms and crypto exchanges to build similar services 3, 1.