Kraken’s Payward Taps SoFi for Stablecoin and 24/7 Settlement

Kraken’s parent company, Payward, has signed a partnership with SoFi aimed at linking Kraken’s exchange infrastructure with SoFi’s dollar settlement rails and bringing the SoFiUSD stablecoin into Kraken’s ecosystem. The deal connects SoFi’s 24/7 US dollar settlement network with Kraken Prime, Kraken’s institutional-grade execution venue.

Under the collaboration, SoFi will route eligible digital-asset orders through Kraken Prime’s smart order routing to source liquidity across multiple trading venues. Payward, meanwhile, will join SoFi’s SoFi Exchange Network (SEN) and gain access to SoFi’s business banking services, with the companies saying additional custody services could be added as the relationship expands.

Key takeaways

• SoFi plans to use Kraken Prime as an additional liquidity source by routing digital-asset orders through Kraken’s smart order routing.
• Payward will connect to SoFi’s SoFi Exchange Network (SEN) for access to round-the-clock US dollar settlement.
• The partnership introduces SoFiUSD to Kraken, with the stablecoin issued by SoFi Bank and backed by reserves held in cash and short-term US Treasurys.
• Both firms indicated custody-related services could be incorporated later, suggesting an expanding scope beyond execution and settlement.
• The move fits Payward and Kraken’s broader strategy to build deeper ties with traditional finance and tokenized markets.

How the Kraken–SoFi link is designed

Kraken described the collaboration in a Thursday blog post, explaining that SoFi will route digital asset orders through Kraken Prime. Kraken Prime uses smart order routing to assess pricing and market depth across supported venues in real time, then send orders to the venue most likely to achieve the best fill.

Kraken said this matters because it helps SoFi avoid relying on a single order book for execution. With access to liquidity across multiple venues, SoFi can potentially improve execution quality—especially when markets are fragmented or liquidity conditions change quickly.

The partnership also extends to settlement. Kraken’s institutional and business clients will be able to use SEN, according to the companies, enabling US dollar settlement on a 24/7 basis. For participants used to digital-asset trading hours, around-the-clock settlement is a practical improvement: it reduces downtime between trading and funding/settlement cycles and can streamline cross-platform operations.

SoFiUSD arrives at Kraken

A central element of the agreement is the stablecoin itself. SoFiUSD is issued by SoFi Bank and is described as a dollar-backed stablecoin launched in 2026 for payments and settlement. The companies say SoFiUSD reserves are held in cash and short-term US Treasurys.

By bringing SoFiUSD to Kraken, the partnership effectively broadens the set of dollar-denominated settlement and payment options available to traders and institutions interacting with Kraken’s venues. While the article does not specify which custody or issuance workflows will be added first, the direction is clear: SoFiUSD is positioned as a key bridge asset between the banking-oriented settlement network and crypto trading infrastructure.

Kraken also indicated that qualified custody services could be added as the partnership matures. That point is important for institutional users, because custody and settlement capabilities are often treated as linked requirements in digital-asset operations—especially for firms that need compliance-aligned processes across multiple stages of trading and asset handling.

SoFi’s customer reach meets Kraken’s institutional rails

SoFi already has a large consumer base and offers crypto trading through its app, and Kraken Prime is presented as an additional path for sourcing liquidity rather than a complete replacement of existing execution methods. The companies said SoFi routes eligible trades through Kraken Prime, giving SoFi access to liquidity beyond any single execution venue.

Kraken’s role in SEN is similarly framed as an infrastructure upgrade for clients. By connecting to the SoFi Exchange Network, Kraken and its institutional and business customers can potentially take advantage of round-the-clock US dollar settlement through a banking-linked network—an increasingly important capability as more platforms seek to reduce operational friction in digital-asset markets.

From an investor and operator perspective, the practical value of such connectivity is less about headline integration and more about what changes in daily operations: faster and more continuous settlement options, the ability to execute orders against deeper liquidity pools, and a stablecoin that is explicitly designed for payments and settlement.

Part of a wider push beyond pure crypto

This partnership follows other efforts by Payward and Kraken to broaden their connections to traditional finance. Earlier reporting noted that London Stock Exchange Group reportedly partnered with Payward to offer tokenized versions of leading UK equities through LSE 24, a new 24/5 trading venue set to launch in 2027. Separately, Kraken has added round-the-clock exposure to the S&P 500 through its funded trading program, with commodities expected to follow.

Kraken has also expanded into tokenized public markets via xStocks, the tokenized equities platform developed by Backed Finance, which Kraken acquired in early 2026. Kraken has used xStocks to provide eligible users exposure to share-linked offerings tied to SpaceX and Jersey Mike’s IPO activity, in some cases including direct share allocations.

In the background is Payward’s plan to become a public company. The company reportedly submitted a draft registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2025, though reports indicate the earliest possible listing timing has been pushed to the second quarter of 2027.

Taken together, the Kraken–SoFi deal reinforces a theme: rather than treating stablecoins, execution, and settlement as separate silos, Payward is building bridges between banking-grade settlement networks and crypto trading infrastructure. If that strategy continues, stablecoins like SoFiUSD and networks like SEN could become more central to how institutions operationalize digital-asset trading—particularly for firms that want 24/7 dollar rails aligned with regulated financial workflows.

Going forward, readers should watch how quickly the partnership expands into additional custody services and how widely Kraken’s institutional clients adopt SEN for continuous US dollar settlement. The next question for the market is whether integrations of this kind—linking bank-adjacent settlement, smart order execution, and dollar-backed stablecoins—become the default operating model for large exchanges and financial platforms.