SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI) has announced a strategic partnership with Payward, the infrastructure company behind the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, spanning banking, payments, liquidity, and digital asset markets.
Under the agreement, Payward will adopt SoFi’s Big Business Banking capabilities and join the SoFi Exchange Network, while simultaneously listing SoFiUSD, SoFi’s dollar-pegged digital asset, on the Kraken platform.
SoFi shares climbed 2.16% intraday following the announcement, reflecting investor enthusiasm for the company’s deepening push into digital asset infrastructure and institutional financial services.
The partnership is structured as a two-way arrangement, with each company gaining meaningful access to the other’s core infrastructure and client networks.
By joining SoFi’s settlement network, Kraken’s institutional clients will be able to clear and settle dollar transactions around the clock, removing the constraints imposed by traditional banking hours.
In the other direction, SoFi will leverage Kraken Prime, Payward’s prime brokerage arm, as an additional source of digital asset liquidity, with qualified custody available as the relationship deepens.
SoFi said the arrangement is expected to improve pricing for the members already trading crypto directly within its app, strengthening the value proposition for its existing user base of 15.8 million members.
CEO Anthony Noto articulated the strategic rationale behind the deal, stating: “The financial system should not shut down when markets stay open.”
SoFiUSD is redeemable one-to-one for dollars and issued by a nationally chartered bank, and a listing on Kraken places it in front of retail, professional, and institutional users far beyond SoFi’s existing membership.
SoFi launched its Big Business Banking product in April, and both companies indicated the relationship could be extended into payments, treasury, and lending over time.
The companies did not disclose any financial terms associated with the partnership, leaving the commercial specifics of the arrangement undisclosed for now.
The deal marks a significant step in SoFi’s broader ambition to bridge traditional banking infrastructure with the rapidly evolving digital asset ecosystem, positioning the company at the intersection of both markets.
