Waters Demands Answers on Kraken's Limited-Purpose Master Account

U.S. Representative Maxine Waters has sent a letter to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, demanding answers on why and how Kraken Financial received a limited-purpose master account.

The account provides direct access to Fedwire, the Fed's core payments infrastructure, placing Kraken on the same settlement rails used by banks and credit unions.

Waters argued that access to the Federal Reserve's payment system raises policy, regulatory, and consumer protection concerns that require full transparency and clear legal grounding.

Kraken's Wyoming-chartered banking unit became the first crypto-native company to obtain a Federal Reserve master account, a development the crypto industry had been working toward for years.