Payward go buy Reap for $600M to expand stablecoin payments and card settlement

Payward (Kraken) don agree to buy Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies for up to $600M in cash and Payward stock, wey value Reap around $20B. The deal still dey wait for regulator approval and dem expect am to close for second half of 2026. Reap dey provide stablecoin payment rails wey join traditional banking/card networks with digital-asset settlement through one API. The platform dey support corporate card issuing, cross-border payouts, and treasury management, and Reap tools dem design make stablecoin settlement fit work side-by-side with fiat and crypto operations. Under the agreement, Reap go continue to run as standalone platform while dem integrate am into Payward Services. Payward Services (wey dem launch for March 2026) aim to give banks and enterprises one integration layer for trading, funding, payments, and digital-asset tools. Adding Reap’s stablecoin payments layer suppose extend global card issuance and cross-border payment rails, help partners manage stablecoin treasury more efficiently. The acquisition dey continue Payward’s build of regulated infrastructure. Dem recently agree to buy US crypto derivatives platform Bitnomial (up to $550M) and dem get previous deals like NinjaTrader and Backed. Payward report $2.2B revenue for 2025 (+33% YoY) and say dem still dey consider IPO after dem pause preparation in March. For traders, the main takeaway be say this stablecoin payments expansion dey target enterprise rails and card settlement, not a direct on-chain token catalyst, so short-term market moves go more likely reflect broader "infrastructure/regulated growth" sentiment rather than one single crypto price reaction.