Payward Inc., the parent company of Kraken, has agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies in a cash-and-stock deal worth up to $600 million. The transaction marks Payward’s largest acquisition and its first major infrastructure move into Asia, while valuing the company’s equity at roughly $20 billion.
The purchase signals a strategic shift beyond exchange trading. By adding Reap’s B2B payments infrastructure, Payward is moving toward stablecoin-native revenue streams that are less dependent on spot trading volumes, giving the group a broader commercial base as trading fees remain under pressure.
Reap Gives Payward a Payments Infrastructure Layer
Reap brings cross-border settlement, corporate treasury tools, card issuance and merchant payment APIs tied to fiat and stablecoins. Those capabilities are expected to plug into Payward Services, Kraken’s B2B infrastructure platform launched in March 2026, giving the company an immediate route into corporate wallets and payment rails.
Payward framed the acquisition as a pivot from a trading-volume model toward recurring service-fee revenue. That matters because payment processing and treasury flows can generate steadier income than exchange spreads, which tend to rise and fall with market volatility and retail trading cycles.
The macro opportunity is centered on stablecoin settlement across Asia, Africa and Latin America. By capturing part of those corridors, Payward aims to monetize cross-border business payments and remittances measured in trillions of dollars globally, rather than relying only on trading activity inside crypto markets.
Reap also brings licenses in markets including Hong Kong and Singapore, which could reduce the time required to build local compliance infrastructure. Still, Payward will need to manage a fragmented regulatory map for stablecoins and fintech services across the regions it wants to serve.
The companies said Reap will initially operate as a standalone platform before being integrated into Payward Services after closing. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary approvals, making regulatory clearance and integration timing the first major execution tests.
A Premium Valuation Ahead of IPO Preparation
The deal’s cash-and-stock structure implies a roughly $20 billion equity valuation for Payward. That is higher than the recent $13.3 billion implied valuation tied to a $200 million stake by Deutsche Börse, showing Payward is using a stronger valuation as M&A currency while preparing confidential IPO work.
That valuation gap also raises the stakes for execution. If Reap helps Payward convert stablecoin transaction volume into recurring processing revenue, the acquisition could support a less volatile revenue profile and strengthen the company’s public-market narrative.
Reap’s infrastructure adds new corporate distribution channels and faster Asia market access, while Payward gains tools for settlement, treasury management and merchant-facing stablecoin payment services.
The acquisition could also reshape liquidity dynamics. If Payward captures more stablecoin flows through payment corridors, some activity may shift from episodic exchange trading into recurring settlement and treasury movement, altering how liquidity is sourced and deployed across its platform.
The risks remain substantial. Regulatory setbacks in any major jurisdiction could delay synergies, while inconsistent compliance requirements may limit the amount of net liquidity available for custody, market-making and payment services across targeted markets.
The deal will ultimately test whether a major exchange group can scale stablecoin payments while managing cross-border regulatory complexity. If Payward secures approvals and integrates Reap smoothly in H2 2026, Kraken’s parent could reduce its reliance on trading fees and present investors with a more infrastructure-driven growth model.