Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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SoFi Technologies and Payward are linking SoFi’s banking network with Kraken’s digital-asset trading infrastructure.
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Payward will join the SoFi Exchange Network, giving Kraken institutional clients access to real-time dollar settlement outside traditional banking hours.
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Kraken will list SoFiUSD on its trading platform.
SoFi Technologies and Payward, the parent company of Kraken, have entered a strategic partnership connecting SoFi’s banking infrastructure with Kraken’s digital-asset markets.
Under the agreement, Payward will join the SoFi Exchange Network, or SEN, and list SoFiUSD on Kraken. SoFi will also use Kraken Prime as an additional source of liquidity for crypto trades executed through its application, according to the companies’ official announcement.
The partnership is designed to allow eligible institutional customers to move dollars and manage liquidity outside conventional banking hours.
Payward Joins SoFi’s Real-Time Settlement Network
Payward’s participation will extend the SoFi Exchange Network to Kraken’s institutional customers.
SEN is a real-time settlement network currently available to SoFi’s enterprise banking clients. It allows participating companies to move money and settle eligible transactions continuously instead of waiting for traditional banking windows.
Connecting Kraken to the network could improve the speed with which institutional clients fund accounts, manage cash and settle digital-asset trades.
The arrangement reflects growing demand for banking infrastructure capable of operating at the same continuous pace as cryptocurrency markets.
Kraken will list SoFiUSD, expanding the stablecoin’s availability through Payward’s multi-asset trading platform.
The listing could provide SoFiUSD with access to Kraken’s international user base and digital-asset liquidity. It also strengthens the connection between SoFi’s regulated banking services and Payward’s crypto trading infrastructure.
The companies did not provide a launch date for the listing or disclose which trading pairs and regions will initially support SoFiUSD.
Availability may depend on regulatory requirements and customer eligibility.
SoFi Adds Kraken Prime as a Liquidity Source
SoFi will use Kraken Prime to provide an additional source of digital-asset liquidity for trades initiated through its app.
Kraken Prime uses smart order routing to evaluate pricing and market depth across supported trading venues. It then routes orders to available venues based on execution conditions.
Adding another source of liquidity could help SoFi improve pricing and execution quality for customers trading cryptocurrencies.
Qualified custody capabilities may also be added as the relationship between the two companies expands.
Payward co-CEO David Ripley said financial markets and money are converging, creating a need for infrastructure that can support both conventional and digital assets.
“Millions of people will buy their first crypto asset 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,” Ripley said.
The partnership combines SoFi’s banking rails and customer-facing financial application with Kraken’s trading, liquidity and crypto infrastructure.
SoFi Expands Big Business Banking
SoFi launched SEN in April alongside its Big Business Banking platform. The service combines enterprise banking with digital-asset operations, allowing companies to manage fiat and crypto-related financial activity through a single regulated platform.
SoFi generated $134.3 million in crypto transaction revenue during the second quarter, an increase of 10% from the previous three months.
However, crypto remained a relatively small part of SoFi’s $1.2 billion in adjusted quarterly net revenue.
The deal comes as Payward expands beyond Kraken’s core cryptocurrency exchange operations.
The company is building a broader financial platform spanning:
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Trading and prime brokerage
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Real-time payments
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Stablecoins
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Custody
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Derivatives
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Tokenized assets
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Regulated banking infrastructure
In May, Payward applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Payward National Trust Company.
A national trust charter could expand its ability to provide federally supervised custody and related services.
Payward’s Wyoming-chartered bank, Kraken Financial, received a Federal Reserve master account in March.
The account gives Kraken Financial direct access to the central bank’s payment system, reducing its reliance on intermediary banks for certain transactions.
Combined with SEN, Kraken Prime and SoFiUSD, that access could help Payward build more integrated settlement infrastructure connecting traditional dollars with continuously operating digital-asset markets.
