Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, has agreed to buy Hong Kong-based stablecoin payments firm Reap Technologies for $600 million in cash and stock.
Reap Deal Details
The transaction was first reported by Bloomberg on Thursday, citing comments from Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi. The shares being issued by Payward in the deal value the company at roughly $20 billion.
Reap is led by Daren Guo, who previously launched the Asia Pacific business for payments firm Stripe, and former investment banker Kevin Kang.
The Hong Kong startup builds payment rails that link traditional finance to digital assets. Its products include corporate cards, expense management APIs, and cross-border settlement tools tied mostly to USDC (usdc).
Reap was already profitable in 2025 and had raised about $60 million before the deal. The transaction is signed but still subject to regulatory approval in Hong Kong and Singapore.
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Sethi's Asia Bet
Sethi told Bloomberg that Asia is the fastest growing market for Kraken outside Europe, in both revenue and assets on platform.
The acquisition is Payward's first infrastructure deal in Asia and one of its largest ever, he said. He argued Reap can carry its Asia playbook into the United States almost overnight through Kraken's distribution.
Industry analysts read the deal as part of a broader race to control stablecoin payment rails before they become as essential as card networks.
Stripe paid $1.1 billion for Bridge earlier this year, and Mastercard bought BVNK for $1.8 billion.
Kraken Buying Spree
The Reap purchase extends a busy stretch of dealmaking for Payward. In April, the company agreed to acquire crypto derivatives venue Bitnomial for as much as $550 million, and last year it struck a $1.5 billion deal for futures platform NinjaTrader. Payward also confidentially filed for an initial public offering in late 2025.
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