Kraken parent company Payward is acquiring Hong Kong based Reap in a $600 million deal to expand its stablecoin payments and global financial infrastructure business.
Key Takeaways
- Payward will acquire Reap Technologies in a deal worth up to $600 million in cash and stock.
- The acquisition strengthens Payward’s stablecoin payments and cross border infrastructure business in Asia.
- Reap provides card issuing, treasury management, and stablecoin powered settlement services.
- The deal comes as competition in the global stablecoin payments sector continues to intensify.
What Happened?
Payward, the parent company behind crypto exchange Kraken, announced plans to acquire Hong Kong based payments infrastructure firm Reap Technologies for up to $600 million. The transaction will be paid through a combination of cash and Payward stock and values Payward at approximately $20 billion.
The acquisition is expected to strengthen Payward’s business to business financial infrastructure platform by adding Reap’s stablecoin native payment services, including cross border settlement, card issuance, treasury management, and corporate payment tools.
NEWS: Kraken-backed @Payward has entered an agreement to acquire @reapglobal for up to $600M, expanding its B2B platform with global card issuance and stablecoin payments infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/6KieFlpVR8
— SolanaFloor (@SolanaFloor) May 7, 2026
Payward Expands Beyond Crypto Trading
The acquisition highlights Payward’s broader strategy to move deeper into financial infrastructure and stablecoin powered services beyond its crypto exchange business.
Reap has built a payment infrastructure platform that combines traditional banking rails, card networks, and blockchain-based settlement systems into a single API driven service. The company primarily focuses on helping businesses move money internationally using stablecoins and digital assets more efficiently.
According to the official announcement, Reap’s services will be integrated into Payward Services, the company’s infrastructure platform that already supports crypto trading, custody, tokenized assets, derivatives, and payment settlement tools.
Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward, described the acquisition as part of a larger shift in global finance.
He added that Reap’s infrastructure gives Payward the ability to combine card networks, banking systems, and blockchain settlement into one globally scalable platform.
Asia Becomes Key Stablecoin Battleground
The deal also signals Payward’s growing focus on Asia, which has rapidly emerged as one of the largest growth regions for stablecoin adoption and crypto-based payments.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Sethi said Asia is currently one of the fastest growing markets for both revenue and digital asset activity outside Europe.
Reap already operates across Hong Kong, Singapore, Latin America, Africa, and several emerging markets. The company’s existing regulatory licenses are expected to help accelerate Payward’s expansion throughout Asia Pacific and the Americas.
At the same time, Payward’s existing licenses in the United States and Europe could allow Reap to expand its services into western markets more quickly.
Reap Revenue and Global Expansion Grew Rapidly
Reap was founded by Daren Guo and Kevin Kang. Guo previously helped launch Stripe’s Asia Pacific business before starting Reap.
The company has seen rapid growth during 2025 as stablecoin adoption increased globally. According to the official announcement, Reap nearly tripled both revenue and payment volumes this year while expanding its licensing footprint from Asia into South America. Guo said:
He added that joining Payward would help accelerate the development of crypto native financial products, including stablecoin payments and agentic commerce solutions.
Payward Continues Acquisition Strategy
The Reap acquisition follows several major deals completed by Payward over the past two years.
Earlier this year, the company agreed to acquire digital asset derivatives platform Bitnomial in a deal worth up to $550 million. Payward also previously acquired NinjaTrader and invested in tokenization and institutional finance infrastructure businesses.
The company appears focused on building a full stack global financial infrastructure platform that combines trading, payments, custody, and stablecoin settlement services under one ecosystem.
The transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals in jurisdictions including Hong Kong and Singapore. Both companies expect the deal to close during the second half of 2026.
CoinLaw’s Takeaway
In my experience, this deal shows how quickly crypto companies are transforming into full financial infrastructure providers rather than just trading platforms. I found the most important part of this acquisition is not the exchange business itself, but the race to control stablecoin payments and cross border money movement.
Asia is becoming one of the most important regions for crypto innovation, and Payward clearly does not want to fall behind competitors building payment networks around stablecoins. If stablecoin adoption keeps accelerating at this pace, companies with regulated global payment infrastructure could become the next major financial giants.
