SoFi Technologies and Payward, the parent company of Kraken, announced a strategic partnership that will route SoFi’s digital asset order flow through Kraken Prime and connect Payward to SoFi’s real-time banking settlement network.
Partnership details
Under the agreement, Payward will join the SoFi Exchange Network (SEN), a real-time settlement system that clears U.S. dollar transactions around the clock.
Kraken Prime, Payward’s institutional prime brokerage arm, will serve as an additional source of liquidity behind SoFi’s crypto offering.
SoFi CEO Anthony Noto framed the deal as part of a broader infrastructure push:
“SoFi is building the trusted financial infrastructure for an always-on economy, combining the strength of a nationally chartered bank with technology that allows money to move seamlessly and efficiently.”
SoFi has 15.8 million members who can already buy and sell crypto inside the SoFi app.
Stablecoin listing and banking access
Payward will also list SoFiUSD, SoFi’s bank-issued stablecoin, on Kraken.
SoFiUSD is redeemable one-to-one for U.S. dollars and is designed to combine blockchain utility with the safeguards of a regulated bank.
In the other direction, Kraken Prime’s institutional clients will gain access to SoFi’s Big Business Banking and SEN settlement rails, giving them a regulated banking partner capable of settling fiat 24 hours a day.
Kraken’s growing institutional reach
Payward Co-CEO David Ripley described the deal as closing the gap between traditional finance and digital asset markets:
“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.”
