Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 26, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleKraken introduces Krak, a peer-to-peer payments app for crypto and fiat transfers in over 100 countries, challenging major payment platforms.
By Hannah Lang
(Reuters) -Crypto exchange Kraken on Thursday launched a peer-to-peer payments app that enables users to send and receive funds - in both cryptocurrency and fiat currency - across more than a hundred countries.
The move is a bid to expand Kraken's offerings beyond its digital asset trading business, and puts the firm in competition with PayPal, Venmo and Block's CashApp.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Crypto exchanges such as Kraken are increasingly signaling an interest in expanding outside of the digital asset trading that initially became popular with retail investors. Kraken said last month that it is launching tokens of U.S. equities, called xStocks, in select markets outside the United States.
CONTEXT
Krak users will have a dedicated spend account and will be able to instantly send and request payments across 300 different assets, including crypto and local currencies, the company said in a press release. Crypto transfers will be made using blockchain technology, while Kraken will make cash transfers internally without using external banking infrastructure.
KEY QUOTE
"We're able to move money across borders right off the bat, because that's what we do from a trading perspective in our venues, and we've actually already spent over 10 years building out that system for money transmitter licenses... in all the jurisdictions," said Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, in an interview with Reuters.
"You have to do that as an exchange anyways, and so what we realized is that our customers just wanted to do more with their money."
WHAT'S NEXT
Kraken plans to launch a series of products through Krak in the future, including physical and virtual cards as well as pay-in-advance services like loans, the company said.
(Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; Editing by Louise Heavens)
Kraken's new app, Krak, is designed to enable users to send and receive funds in both cryptocurrency and fiat currency, expanding Kraken's offerings beyond digital asset trading.
Users of Krak can instantly send and request payments across 300 different assets, including both cryptocurrencies and local currencies.
Kraken plans to introduce a series of products through Krak, including physical and virtual cards, as well as pay-in-advance services like loans.
With the launch of Krak, Kraken is entering competition with established services like PayPal, Venmo, and Block's CashApp.
Kraken claims an advantage in cross-border transactions due to its extensive experience in moving money across borders, which has been built over the past ten years in its trading venues.
Explore more articles in the Finance category
