Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, is acquiring Hong Kong-based payments infrastructure firm Reap for up to US$600 million to expand its B2B financial services platform.

The transaction, structured as a mix of cash and stock, values Payward at US$20 billion.

It will integrate Reap’s stablecoin-native card issuance and cross-border settlement tools into Payward Services, giving partners a single connection point for digital and traditional financial products.

“Reap is the payments layer for what comes next,”

said Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward.

“Card networks, banking rails, and blockchains on a single API, settling in stablecoins. The infrastructure for that world has to be open, regulated, and operational at global scale on Day 1.”

Reap connects traditional banking systems with digital assets, allowing businesses to use stablecoins for corporate cards, treasury management, and global money movement.

The Hong Kong firm reported that it nearly tripled its revenue and transaction volumes in 2025.

“Stablecoins in card payments are one of the largest real-world applications today and Reap is proud to be leading the way,”

said Daren Guo, Co-Founder and CEO of Reap.

“Joining Payward was a natural step to accelerate the future of finance.”

The deal will accelerate Kraken’s footprint in the APAC region using Reap’s existing licenses, while Payward’s regulatory status in the US and Europe will open new markets for the Hong Kong firm.

The acquisition follows Payward’s recent purchases of trading platforms NinjaTrader, Bitnomial, and Backed.

Reap will continue to operate as a standalone platform under its current leadership team once the transaction closes in the second half of 2026.

Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by wavebreakmedia_micro via Magnific