Kraken’s parent company Payward has struck a partnership with digital banking platform SoFi that will bring SoFiUSD, a dollar-backed stablecoin issued by SoFi Bank, onto the Kraken exchange while connecting the crypto platform to SoFi’s around-the-clock dollar settlement network.
The deal, announced in a Thursday blog post, marks one of the most concrete examples to date of a major neobank and a major crypto exchange tying their infrastructure together at the settlement layer. Under the arrangement, SoFi will route digital asset orders through Kraken Prime, the exchange’s institutional smart order routing service, while Payward joins the SoFi Exchange Network (SEN) and gains access to SoFi’s business banking services.
How the partnership works
Kraken Prime evaluates pricing and market depth across supported trading venues in real time, routing each order to where it can be filled most effectively. For SoFi, which has 15.8 million members and already offers crypto trading inside its app, the change means its customers’ trades tap liquidity across multiple order books rather than relying on a single venue.
For Kraken’s institutional and business clients, the bigger prize is access to SEN, SoFi’s network for round-the-clock US dollar settlement. In traditional markets, dollar movements between institutions are constrained by banking hours and wire cutoffs. Crypto markets never close, and the mismatch has long been a pain point for trading firms that need to move fiat on weekends and holidays. A 24/7 settlement rail built around a bank-issued stablecoin directly addresses that gap.
The companies said qualified custody services could be added as the partnership expands, signaling that the initial agreement is a starting point rather than the full scope of the collaboration.
SoFiUSD: a bank-issued stablecoin
SoFiUSD was launched in 2026 as a payments and settlement stablecoin issued directly by SoFi Bank. Its reserves are held in cash and short-term US Treasurys, placing it firmly in the compliant, bank-issued camp of dollar tokens that has emerged as regulators have clarified rules for payment stablecoins.
The choice of a bank-issued stablecoin as the connective tissue of the deal is notable. Rather than relying on a standalone issuer, the partnership keeps the reserve management and issuance inside a nationally regulated bank — a structure that reduces counterparty questions for institutional participants on both sides.
Payward’s steady push into traditional finance
The SoFi partnership continues a deliberate expansion by Payward and Kraken beyond pure crypto markets and into traditional financial infrastructure.
Earlier this week, the 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. In August, Kraken added round-the-clock exposure to the S&P 500 through its funded trading program, with commodities expected to follow.
Kraken has also pushed into public markets through xStocks, the tokenized equities platform developed by Backed Finance, which Kraken acquired in early 2026. The exchange has used the platform to give eligible users exposure to shares tied to the SpaceX and Jersey Mike’s IPOs, in some cases combining tokenized equities with direct share allocations.
IPO backdrop
The string of institutional deals comes as Payward prepares to go public. The company confidentially submitted a draft registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2025, but reports indicate the listing has been pushed back several times and is now expected no earlier than the second quarter of 2027.
Against that backdrop, partnerships with established financial brands like SoFi and LSEG serve a dual purpose: they build real revenue lines in institutional services, and they paint a picture of a maturing, deeply integrated financial platform for prospective public-market investors.
Why it matters
The Kraken-SoFi arrangement is a template for how crypto-native firms and digital banks are converging. The bank brings the stablecoin, the banking license, the regulatory perimeter, and millions of retail customers. The crypto firm brings deep liquidity, 24/7 market infrastructure, and institutional execution technology.
For institutional traders, the combination of Kraken Prime routing and SEN settlement could meaningfully reduce the friction of moving between dollar and crypto rails at any hour. For SoFi members, better execution on crypto trades arrives without leaving the app they already use.
The deal also raises the competitive stakes for other stablecoin issuers and settlement networks. As more banks issue their own dollar tokens and more crypto platforms plug into banking-grade rails, the question of which stablecoins and which networks become default institutional infrastructure is increasingly being decided by partnerships like this one — quiet infrastructure deals rather than headline product launches.
Neither company disclosed the commercial terms of the arrangement or a timeline for the potential custody expansion.
sofi routing orders through Kraken Prime is bigger than people think. 15.8m members suddenly tapping real liquidity across books
a bank issued stablecoin settling 24/7 on exchange rails. this is the boring plumbing stuff that actually matters
15.8m members is the real number here. distribution is everything in this space and sofi already owns it
a bank issued stablecoin trading on kraken with 24/7 settlement. the dollar rails war just got a lot more interesting
dollar rails war is the right frame. a bank issued coin settling 24/7 on exchange rails is the boring future nobody predicted
The rails framing is right. 24/7 settlement with a chartered bank issuer is something the offshore stablecoins still cannot offer.
SoFi routing orders through Kraken Prime is the bigger story imo. 15.8m members suddenly getting multi venue liquidity
until one venue hiccups during a flash crash and everyone blames the router lol
flash crash blame games over smart order routers happened in tradfi decades ago lol. at least kraken prime keeps the audit trail showing where the fill came from
kraken prime getting sofi order flow is the quiet win here. institutional execution quality for a neobank crowd that never had it
kraken prime custody plus an actual bank behind the coin. bigger deal than any perp listing this month
sofi offered crypto once before and quietly walked it back years ago. hopefully they commit this time because SEN settlement is a real upgrade
the 2019 walkback is the fair worry but the setup is different. back then they were brokering through a third party, now they own the coin and the settlement network
owning both the coin and the rails makes a walkback way harder. your balance sheet is literally on it now
owning both the coin and the settlement network is why this sticks. the 2019 walkback was a third party bolt on, this one has the balance sheet committed
fun that Sofi calls its network SEN, same acronym as Silvergates. hoping this one ends better
same acronym, hoping for a different ending is doing a lot of work there lol. at least this SEN has an actual chartered bank on the other side of the coin
reserves in cash and short treasurys with a chartered bank issuing. the boring compliant version is the one that actually sticks
24/7 dollar settlement between a neobank and an exchange is the part tradfi people dont grasp yet. friday night margin calls currently take three days to clear
t+1 was the upgrade, 24/7 is the endgame. kraken shipping it before the incumbent banks is the funny part
Friday margin taking three days is exactly why this matters. 15.8 million SoFi users getting instant rails changes expectations for everyone else.
three days is optimistic tbh, try five when a holiday stacks in. 24/7 settlement would have saved me a very bad tuesday in 2022
five days with a holiday stacked, been there. the real question is whether kraken clients on SEN get weekend settlement in practice or just in the brochure until the first big test
sofiusd on kraken sounds clean until the first weekend stress event. bank closures and a 24/7 peg is the test nobody has run yet
same thought on weekend stress. though sofis bank charter means the fed window exists, its just never been tested against crypto settlement timing