SoFi and Kraken Link Banking and Crypto Rails as Financial Boundaries Blur
Key Takeaways
- •Payward, Kraken's parent company, will join SoFi's Exchange Network to provide institutional clients with 24/7 U.S. dollar settlement.
- •Kraken will list SoFiUSD, while SoFi will use Kraken Prime to source additional crypto liquidity for customer trades.
- •SoFi became the first U.S. national bank to offer a stablecoin directly to retail customers on a public blockchain with SoFiUSD.
- •The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, established reserve, disclosure, and licensing requirements that encouraged regulated institutions to issue stablecoins.
- •The companies said the partnership could expand into payments, treasury management, lending, and other digital-asset services.
SoFi and cryptocurrency exchange Kraken are deepening their partnership, connecting traditional banking infrastructure with digital-asset markets in a deal that underscores the growing convergence between the two sectors.
Under the arrangement, Kraken's parent company, Payward, will join SoFi's Exchange Network (SEN), giving its institutional clients access to 24/7 U.S. dollar settlement. That is a notable departure from conventional U.S. banking rails, where wire transfers and ACH settlement generally operate on limited weekday hours, leaving crypto traders dependent on intraday credit or stablecoins to move dollars over weekends and holidays. Kraken will also list SoFiUSD, SoFi's bank-issued dollar stablecoin.
In return, SoFi will tap Kraken Prime for additional crypto liquidity for trades made by its customers.
"Millions of people will buy their first cryptoasset inside the app they already use for their paycheck, and the infrastructure behind that experience should connect them to deep, liquid markets built to operate at scale," said Payward co-CEO David Ripley.
The deal reflects a broader industry shift: cryptocurrency exchanges are moving into stocks, derivatives, payments, and banking, while banks and fintechs are increasingly adopting crypto trading, stablecoins, and blockchain settlement. It also comes as U.S. policymakers have moved to establish a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, with the GENIUS Act signed into law in July 2025, setting reserve, disclosure, and licensing requirements for dollar-pegged tokens — a backdrop that has encouraged regulated financial institutions to issue their own stablecoins.
"The financial system should not shut down when markets stay open," said SoFi CEO Anthony Noto.
The companies said the relationship could expand into payments, treasury management, lending, and other digital-asset services.
Background: SoFiUSD
SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI), which describes itself as a one-stop shop for digital financial services, announced the launch of SoFiUSD, a fully reserved U.S. dollar stablecoin issued by SoFi Bank, N.A. With the launch, SoFi became the first U.S. national bank to offer a stablecoin directly to retail customers on a public blockchain.
The announcement was shared on X by BitKE (@BitcoinKE) on December 19, 2025: https://x.com/BitcoinKE/status/2001852495627235810
