[DigitalToday reporter Jae-won Choi (최재원)] Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken parent Payward has joined hands with U.S. fintech firm SoFi to strengthen stablecoin and 24-hour dollar payment infrastructure. As a crypto exchange directly links with the infrastructure of a regulated bank, the boundary between traditional finance and digital asset markets appears to be further blurring.

On Sept. 3 (local time), Cointelegraph reported that Payward has formed a strategic partnership with SoFi and decided to list SoFiUSD, a dollar-linked stablecoin issued by SoFi, on Kraken. Payward will also join SoFi’s real-time payments network, the SoFi Exchange Network (SEN).

As a result, Kraken’s institutional and corporate clients will be able to settle U.S. dollar transactions 24 hours a day, seven days a week through SEN. Payward will also use SoFi’s corporate finance services. The two companies said they could add qualified digital asset custody services as they broaden the scope of cooperation.

SoFi, in turn, will use Kraken Prime for crypto order execution. Kraken Prime provides smart order routing that compares prices and market depth across multiple venues in real time and sends orders to the best market. The structure allows access to multiple liquidity sources rather than relying on a single exchange order book.

SoFiUSD is a dollar-linked stablecoin for payments issued through SoFi Bank, a U.S. national bank. It aims to be redeemable 1-to-1 with the dollar and is used for payments and settlement as well as 24-hour blockchain transfers. However, it is not a bank deposit and is not protected by the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).

Payward has recently been rapidly expanding links with traditional financial markets. This week, it partnered with London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and is also pursuing plans to offer tokenised products linked to UK-listed shares on LSE 24, which is set to launch in 2027. Its initial public offering has been delayed due to market conditions, and the earliest expected timing has been pushed back to the second quarter of 2027.