Payward Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Reap Technologies for up to $600 million in a mix of cash and stock. The deal values the Kraken parent company at $20 billion and marks its third major acquisition in a year, totaling over $2.6 billion in spending. Reap’s API-driven infrastructure will be integrated into Payward Services, enabling partners to embed card issuance and stablecoin treasury tools.
Payward Inc., the parent company of the prominent cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has reached an agreement to acquire Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies for a total consideration of up to $600 million. The acquisition, confirmed by Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi, is structured as a combination of cash and equity, with the stock component reflecting a $20 billion valuation for the financial infrastructure giant. The move signals a massive push into the stablecoin-native payments sector as Payward prepares for a potential initial public offering (IPO) by 2027.
Founded in 2018, Reap Technologies specializes in bridging traditional financial rails with digital assets. Its core offering includes a programmable payment API that facilitates corporate card issuance, cross-border payouts, and stablecoin-denominated treasury management. By mid-2025, Reap reported processing approximately $3 billion in monthly transaction volume. The firm, which will continue to operate as a standalone entity under its current leadership, primarily utilizes USDC for its settlement infrastructure across Asia, Latin America, and emerging markets.
The acquisition is a strategic addition to Payward Services, a business-to-business (B2B) platform launched earlier this year. This platform aims to provide a unified integration point for institutional clients to access trading, custody, and tokenized assets. By absorbing Reap, Payward adds a critical payments layer, allowing banks and fintechs to offer stablecoin-powered global cards without the need for multiple vendors. This deal follows other high-profile purchases, including the $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader and the $550 million deal for derivatives exchange Bitnomial.
“Reap is the payments layer for what comes next. Card networks, banking rails, and blockchains on a single API, settling in stablecoins,” stated Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi. He noted that Asia is currently the company’s fastest-growing market outside of Europe. The integration is expected to accelerate Payward’s expansion into the United States by leveraging Reap’s existing infrastructure alongside Payward’s growing list of regulatory licenses, including its recent application for an OCC national trust charter.
The transaction is currently subject to regulatory approvals in several jurisdictions, including Hong Kong and Singapore. Industry analysts view the deal as a clear indicator that major crypto firms are shifting focus from retail trading toward becoming full-scale financial infrastructure providers. As the stablecoin card market now exceeds $18 billion annually, the acquisition positions Payward to dominate the cross-border settlement space ahead of a highly anticipated public listing.
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