SoFi and Kraken Link Banking Rails, SoFiUSD and Crypto Liquidity

SoFi and Payward, the parent company of Kraken, announced a strategic partnership on September 3 that links SoFi’s banking and settlement infrastructure with Kraken’s digital-asset markets. The arrangement gives eligible Kraken institutional clients access to real-time, round-the-clock U.S. dollar clearing and settlement through the SoFi Exchange Network, or SEN, according to SoFi’s announcement.

The deal has three connected parts: Payward’s participation in SEN, a planned Kraken listing for SoFiUSD, and SoFi’s use of Kraken Prime as an additional venue for liquidity and trade execution on crypto orders made in its app. Decrypt separately reported the same structure.

Payward joins SoFi Exchange Network for dollar settlement

Payward, Kraken’s parent company, will join the SoFi Exchange Network (SEN), a connection that will enable eligible institutional Kraken clients to clear and settle U.S. dollars in real time, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. SoFi and Payward described the arrangement as a partnership connecting SoFi’s banking and settlement infrastructure with Kraken’s digital-asset markets. The announcement does not specify when the service will become available to clients or which institutions will qualify.

Kraken to distribute SoFiUSD

Kraken will list SoFiUSD for retail, professional and institutional users, expanding access to the dollar-linked token across the exchange’s customer groups. Kraken described SoFiUSD as a bank-issued stablecoin redeemable one-to-one for U.S. dollars in its announcement of the collaboration. The listing provides the distribution component of a broader partnership that also includes settlement-network and trading-service links.

SoFi launched SoFiUSD on December 18, 2025; the company said it was issued by SoFi Bank, fully reserved and backed one-to-one by cash, and was the first stablecoin issued by a national bank on a public, permissionless blockchain.

Official partnership graphic displaying SoFi and Payward branding. — Source: SoFi investor relations

SoFi adds Kraken Prime for liquidity and execution

SoFi will use Kraken Prime as an additional source of crypto liquidity and trade execution for digital-asset orders placed through the SoFi app. Kraken said its Prime service routes orders across supported venues to seek the best available pricing.

That makes the arrangement reciprocal: Payward obtains access to SoFi’s settlement network for eligible institutional clients, while SoFi adds Kraken Prime to its execution setup for app-based crypto orders. Neither company disclosed volumes, commercial terms or the share of SoFi orders that could be handled through Kraken Prime.

The partnership therefore connects three distinct functions—U.S. dollar settlement, stablecoin distribution and crypto order execution—under one agreement. SoFiUSD’s prior launch as a fully reserved, bank-issued token gives Kraken a product to list, while Kraken Prime supplies SoFi with an additional route for sourcing liquidity.

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