Kraken becomes first digital asset firm to gain direct access to US fed payments infrastructure

Kraken’s Wyoming-chartered banking unit has been granted a limited-purpose master account by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, becoming the first US digital-asset firm to gain direct access to the central bank’s core payments infrastructure.

The approval, announced on Wednesday, allows Kraken Financial to connect directly to systems including Fedwire, which processes more than $4 trillion in average daily transfers, and to settle dollar transactions without relying on intermediary banks. The account is approved for an initial one-year term and includes restrictions tailored to the company’s business model and risk profile.

Arjun Sethi, co-chief executive of Payward, Kraken’s legal parent, said: “This milestone marks the convergence of crypto infrastructure and sovereign financial rails. With a Federal Reserve master account, we can operate not as a peripheral participant in the US banking system, but as a directly connected financial institution.”

The Kansas City Fed emphasised that the arrangement is limited. Jeff Schmid, its president, said in a statement: “As we know, the payments landscape is actively evolving. Throughout this transformation, the integrity and stability of the US payments system remain our priority.”

Kraken will not receive the full suite of services available to traditional banks, such as interest on reserves or access to the Fed’s discount window. The structure resembles a “skinny” master account proposed by the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, under which fintech and crypto firms could use payment rails but not broader central bank facilities.

Banking trade groups have opposed such access. In a letter sent in February, the Bank Policy Institute, the Financial Services Forum and The Clearing House Association wrote that “central bank account access can also pose considerable risk to individual Reserve Banks, to the US payments system and its participants, and to financial stability”.

The decision comes as digital-asset companies seek deeper integration with the US financial system under President Donald Trump, who has pledged to make the country the “crypto capital of the world”. Kraken was valued at $20 billion in a fundraising round in November and has filed plans for an initial public offering.

Kraken Financial operates under a special purpose depository institution charter granted by Wyoming, a state that has positioned itself as a hub for crypto banking.