Key Takeaways
- The acquisition is approximately st 94.1 billion yen. The stablecoin payment function is expanded on a global scale
- Looking forward to increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) payments to use licenses in Asia and the Americas
Payward Business Expansion
Payward, the parent company of crypto asset exchange Kraken, announced on May 7 that it has signed a formal agreement to buy Solana partner Leap, a payment infrastructure company that leverages stablecoins.
Arjun Sethi, Payward chief executive, explained that the acquisition will expand the platform Payward Services for business-to-business (B2B) transactions. It says it will release international infrastructure under regulation for card issuance and stablecoin payments.
Currently, Payward Services is providing a single point of integration for the infrastructure needed for partners to develop always-on financial products such as crypto trading, tokenized assets, and custody.
Expansion into Card and Payment Sectors
Through the acquisition of Leap, the company plans to expand its payward services into the card and payment sectors. Partner companies will be able to handle card issuance, international payments, and stablecoin treasury management services without combining multiple vendors or managing separated infrastructure.
Sethi also explained that Payward will use Leap’s business license to expand its business in the Asia Pacific region and the Americas. Moreover, Leap also said that Payward’s European and U.S. business licenses can be utilized.
Elsewhere, the two companies also explained that they plan to expand their stablecoin-powered payment infrastructure in high-growth markets in the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America region.
In the announcement, Sethi commented:
“Finance is moving in one direction. The direction is an always-on market, programmable money, and autonomous execution. And stablecoins will become the payment platform, and AI (artificial intelligence) agents will join. We’re witnessing that transformation on Kraken’s platform.”
About the Acquisition
The transaction amount is up to $600 million (about 94.1 billion yen), and the transaction is paid for by combining cash and payward shares. The payward is valued at $20 billion (about 3.1 trillion yen).
Leap also said that it will continue to operate as an independent platform in the Payward ecosystem.
The acquisition process is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
