Kraken's parent company, Payward, has signed a deal to acquire Reap Technologies, a company that specializes in stablecoin-powered card issuing and payments infrastructure. The price tag: up to $600 million, payable in a mix of cash and stock.

The transaction values Payward at $20 billion and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, assuming regulators give the nod. Payward is essentially building a single platform where companies can offer everything from crypto trading and custody to tokenized assets and derivatives. Adding Reap's capabilities fills a big gap: card issuing and cross-border payments.

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward, framed the move as part of a broader shift in finance. “Finance is moving in one direction. Continuous markets. Programmable money. Autonomous execution. Stablecoins are the settlement substrate. AI agents are the new participants. We see the inflection on our own platform: Krak shipped to 110 countries on Day 1, xStocks crossed $29 billion in cumulative volume in its first year, 1,900 B2B partners run on Payward's shared infrastructure today,” he said.

The acquisition gives both companies a stronger global regulatory presence. Reap's licenses strengthen Payward's reach across APAC and the Americas, while Payward's regulatory footprint in the U.S. and Europe opens doors for Reap to expand into those regions. Together, they plan to grow stablecoin-powered payments infrastructure in fast-growing markets like MENA and Latin America.

As part of the deal, Reap's card issuing and cross-border payments capabilities will become available to Payward Services partners, sitting alongside Payward's existing liquidity, custody, and settlement infrastructure. Reap will continue operating as a standalone platform within the Payward ecosystem, keeping its leadership team, brand, and go-to-market strategy.

Daren Guo, co-founder and CEO of Reap, highlighted the scale of the opportunity. “Stablecoins in card payments are one of the largest real-world applications today, and Reap is proud to be leading the way. With the global stablecoin and crypto card market now exceeding $18 billion annually, Reap nearly tripled revenue and volumes in 2025, and expanded our licensing footprint from Asia to South America,” he said.

Payward has been on an acquisition spree. It recently bought NinjaTrader and Backed, and last month signed a deal to acquire crypto-native exchange Bitnomial for up to $550 million, also in cash and stock. The message is clear: Payward wants to be the infrastructure layer for the next generation of financial services, and it's spending big to get there.