Payward buys Reap for $600M to expand stablecoin payment services in Hong Kong

Kraken parent Payward has agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies for up to $600 million, adding card issuance and cross-border stablecoin payment infrastructure to its growing business services portfolio.

Payward announced Thursday that the transaction will be paid for in a combination of cash and company stock, valuing the company at $20 billion. Pending regulatory approval, the companies expect the acquisition to close in the second half of 2026.

Founded in 2018 by former Stripe Asia Pacific CEO Daren Guo and former investment banker Kevin Kang, Reap provides a payment infrastructure designed to connect traditional banking systems with digital asset networks. The company’s tools support cross-border settlements, treasury operations, and processing payments tied to stablecoins.

Under the agreement, Reap will continue to operate as an independent platform, according to a joint statement from the company’s founders.

Reap deal adds payment infrastructure to Payward Services

Launched in March 2026, Payward Services integrates trading, payments, financing, and digital assets tools for banks, fintech firms, and enterprise customers through a single integration layer. Reap’s infrastructure adds global card issuance and payment mechanisms to that system, allowing partners to manage stablecoin treasury operations and fiat and crypto settlement services.

“Reap is the payment layer for what’s next. Card networks, banking rails, and blockchains in a single API, hosted on stablecoins,” said Payward and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi in the announcement.

Sethi also described the acquisition as Payward’s first infrastructure project in Asia and one of the company’s biggest deals to date. According to his words, Asia has become Payward’s fastest growing region outside of Europe in terms of both income and platform assets.

“They’ve already done it in Asia. They can expand to the US overnight with us,” Sethi said.

Crypto firms have continued to delve into payment systems and stablecoin payment services such as fintech companies, and vendors are exploring blockchain-based transfers for cross-border transactions and financial management.

A series of acquisitions continues ahead of a possible IPO

The Reap operation follows several acquisitions completed by Payward over the past year as the company builds its trading and financial infrastructure in multiple regions.

In April, Payward agreed to acquire Chicago-based Bitnomial for up to $550 million in cash and stock. Bitnomial became the first US crypto derivatives platform to secure all three Commodity Futures Trading Commission licenses at the same time, including permits to operate an exchange business, clearinghouse, and exchange under one regulated structure.

Meanwhile, Payward said Bitnomial’s infrastructure will be integrated across Kraken, NinjaTrader, and Payward Services to provide access to managed crypto derivatives through a single API.

Previous deals include the $1.5 billion acquisition of futures broker NinjaTrader and the purchase of equity token issuer Backed. According to Payward, the transaction is part of a long-term strategy to expand beyond crypto trading into the area of ​​payments, derivatives, and institutional financial services.

Payward reported $2.2 billion in revenue for 2025, up 33% from last year, while its platforms processed nearly $2 billion in transactions and held more than $48 billion in client assets by year’s end.

Active IPO coverage also remains in place. Sethi said in April that the public listing is still being considered after the company paused formal preparations in March due to market conditions.