SoFi, Kraken bridge banking and crypto in 24/7 tie-up

Digital bank SoFi and crypto exchange Kraken are wiring into each other's financial plumbing, with Kraken parent Payward joining SoFi's 24/7 dollar settlement network and the exchange listing SoFi's stablecoin SoFiUSD.

"The financial system should not shut down when markets stay open," SoFi Chief Executive Officer Anthony Noto said, describing the goal of letting businesses move money across networks without the delays of traditional banking infrastructure.

Under the agreement announced Thursday, Payward joins the SoFi Exchange Network, known as SEN, letting Kraken's institutional clients move dollars and manage liquidity around the clock rather than wait for banking hours. SoFi will use Kraken Prime as an additional source of liquidity for crypto trades made by its customers, while Kraken lists SoFiUSD for its retail, professional and institutional users.

The tie-up is the latest sign of banking and crypto converging into one-stop financial shops. Crypto exchanges are pushing beyond token trading into stocks, derivatives and payments — Crypto.com this month rolled out tokenized stock derivatives — while fintechs and traditional financial firms add crypto, stablecoins and blockchain settlement from the other direction.

SoFi has been building out both sides of that strategy. It added crypto trading to its app and launched SoFiUSD, its own dollar-backed stablecoin, giving it a consumer crypto business and blockchain-based payment infrastructure. It debuted Big Business Banking in April, bringing enterprise banking and digital-asset services under one roof, with SEN providing an always-on rail for moving dollars.

"Millions of people will buy their first cryptoasset inside the app they already use for their paycheck, and the infrastructure behind that experience should connect them to deep, liquid markets built to operate at scale," Payward co-CEO David Ripley said.

The arrangement also blurs the line between the regulated banking sector and crypto venues. SoFiUSD is a bank-issued stablecoin and SEN moves dollars over banking rails, while Kraken operates one of crypto's largest trading platforms — a pairing that draws together two sectors that have historically answered to different regulators.

The companies said the relationship could eventually expand into payments, treasury, lending and other digital-asset services, a roadmap that would deepen the overlap between a bank and one of crypto's largest trading venues. For SoFi, the deal adds depth to the liquidity behind its in-app trades; for Kraken, it opens a path to the everyday banking customers who hold their paychecks at a fintech rather than at an exchange.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.