Kraken’s Payward Acquires Magna to Scale RWA Tokenization and BTC Liquidity
Payward, Kraken’s parent company, has acquired tokenization platform Magna to expand institutional tokenization, custody and staking infrastructure ahead of a potential IPO. Magna will operate as a standalone platform “powered by” Kraken and bring on-chain and off-chain vesting, white-label token distribution, custody and escrow workflows, and custom staking—functions designed to increase liquidity for assets including BTC. Magna serves more than 160 clients and reported a peak TVL of $60 billion in 2025. The deal follows Payward’s 2025 acquisition spree and product integrations and comes after the firm confidentially filed for a US SEC IPO and reported $2.2 billion in adjusted 2025 revenue. For traders, the acquisition signals growing institutional demand for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and could, over time, increase BTC liquidity and deepen institutional custody and staking product supply—factors with possible bullish implications for BTC liquidity and market depth.
Bullish
The acquisition strengthens institutional infrastructure for tokenized real-world assets and custody/staking services, which can expand on- and off-chain liquidity channels for BTC. By integrating Magna’s tokenization, vesting and white-label distribution with Kraken’s custody and enterprise resources, Payward can enable larger institutions to tokenise assets and manage liquidity on-chain—potentially increasing BTC supply available for trading without pressuring spot markets. The deal also fits Payward’s broader scaling and IPO-readiness narrative, signaling capital and product commitment that typically supports institutional adoption. Short-term price impact is likely limited (neutral to modest) because the acquisition itself is operational rather than demand-shocking. Over the medium to long term, improved institutional custody, staking and RWA tokenization can deepen markets and be bullish for BTC liquidity and price discovery as more institutional capital flows through regulated, on-chain channels.