Kraken Parent Payward Partners with SoFi on Stablecoin and 24/7 Settlement

Kraken's parent company Payward is expanding its ties with traditional finance through a partnership with SoFi. The deal will bring SoFiUSD, a dollar-backed stablecoin, to Kraken and connect the crypto platform to SoFi's 24/7 dollar settlement network.

Under the partnership, SoFi will use Kraken Prime as an additional source of digital asset liquidity, while Payward will join the SoFi Exchange Network (SEN) and gain access to SoFi’s business banking services. This expansion into traditional finance comes as Payward prepares for its initial public offering, which has been pushed back several times.

Kraken Prime uses smart order routing to evaluate pricing and market depth across supported venues in real-time, allowing SoFi to route digital asset orders through the platform and gain access to liquidity across multiple trading venues. With 15.8 million members, SoFi already offers crypto trading through its app, but this partnership will give it a more comprehensive view of the market.

The move is part of Kraken's efforts to expand beyond crypto markets and build ties with traditional financial institutions. The company has made several moves in recent months to achieve this goal, including partnering with London Stock Exchange Group to offer tokenized versions of leading UK equities through LSE 24.