SoFi and Kraken team up to blur the line between banking and crypto

SoFi Technologies and Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, announced a strategic partnership on September 3 that essentially lets each company do what the other one does best. SoFi gets deeper crypto distribution. Kraken gets real banking pipes.

The deal has two core components. First, Payward joins SoFi’s Exchange Network (SEN), giving Kraken and its institutional clients access to 24/7 real-time USD settlements, the kind of always-on fiat plumbing that crypto trading demands but traditional banks rarely provide. Second, SoFi’s bank-issued stablecoin, SoFiUSD, will be listed on the Kraken platform, available to both retail and institutional users.

What each side actually gets

For Kraken, the SEN integration solves a persistent headache. Crypto markets never close, but banking systems historically operate on business hours. Real-time USD settlement around the clock means Kraken’s institutional clients can move dollars in and out without waiting for a wire to clear on Monday morning.

For SoFi, the deal pushes its stablecoin into one of the largest crypto trading venues in the world. SoFiUSD is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and issued directly by SoFi Bank, which makes it one of the few stablecoins backed by a nationally chartered US bank rather than an offshore entity or a trust company.

Kraken Prime, the exchange’s institutional brokerage arm, will also handle execution services for SoFi’s crypto offerings. Translation: when SoFi’s nearly 15 million members trade crypto through the SoFi app, Kraken’s infrastructure will be working behind the scenes to fill those orders with better pricing and deeper liquidity pools.

SoFi’s crypto journey has been anything but linear

SoFi’s path to this partnership involves a notable detour. The company actually paused its direct crypto trading services back in December 2023, stepping away from the space during a period of heightened regulatory scrutiny. That hiatus lasted roughly two years.

By November 2025, SoFi relaunched crypto trading inside its app, becoming the first US nationally chartered bank to let customers buy, sell, and hold assets like Bitcoin and Ether directly. The distinction matters. Plenty of fintech apps offer crypto through third-party partners. SoFi integrated it into its own banking stack.

Then came SoFiUSD. The stablecoin launched in December 2025 and rolled out to retail users by May 2026. In April 2026, SoFi also debuted its Big Business Banking service, which combines fiat and digital asset management on a single regulated platform.

The bigger picture: convergence is accelerating

For the stablecoin market, SoFiUSD’s arrival on Kraken introduces a new dynamic. The stablecoin space has long been dominated by Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC, with a handful of smaller players jockeying for position. A bank-issued stablecoin listed on a major exchange could carve out a niche among users and institutions that prioritize regulatory clarity and direct bank backing over offshore reserves.

Neither company disclosed financial terms of the partnership, so the revenue-sharing mechanics remain unknown. SoFi wants its stablecoin to become a meaningful player in crypto trading. Kraken wants banking-grade settlement infrastructure. Each company has what the other needs.

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