Payward Buys Reap, Expands Stablecoin Payments, Launches Kraken U.S. Spot Margin

Payward Builds Payments and Derivatives Infrastructure

Payward’s Reap deal follows a broader acquisition push that has already expanded Kraken’s parent beyond crypto trading. Payward completed its Bitnomial acquisition on May 4, 2026, in a transaction worth up to $550 million in cash and equity, giving it a full U.S. crypto derivatives stack regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The Bitnomial acquisition gave Payward control of futures broker, exchange and clearinghouse licenses. Bitnomial brought a Designated Contract Market license for exchange operations, a Derivatives Clearing Organization license for clearing activity and a Futures Commission Merchant license for brokerage services.

Bitnomial was founded in 2014 and spent more than a decade building its CFTC license base. Before the purchase, Kraken relied on third-party clearinghouses to settle derivatives trades. Bringing clearing in-house gives Payward a path to improve settlement speed, reduce counterparty dependencies and avoid bottlenecks during volatile market conditions.

Payward’s acquisition of NinjaTrader in 2025 created another part of the structure. Together, NinjaTrader and Bitnomial connect retail futures trading with regulated U.S. crypto derivatives infrastructure, while Reap adds a stablecoin payments layer focused on business transfers and international settlement.

Kraken Adds Regulated U.S. Spot Margin

Kraken launched crypto spot margin trading for eligible U.S. clients on Kraken Pro on May 6, 2026, after Payward completed the Bitnomial acquisition. The product gives eligible users access to up to 10x leverage through a CFTC-regulated structure.

The spot margin product allows eligible U.S. clients to trade supported crypto assets with leverage, go long or short, trade around the clock and use existing holdings as collateral instead of selling them first. It does not require users to qualify as accredited investors.

Kraken Pro now displays risk metrics for spot margin users, including liquidation price, borrowing costs and available margin. The platform also offers 24/7 stop-loss functionality, while risk is isolated to the collateral allocated to each position rather than a user’s full portfolio.

Spot margin trading is provided by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC, doing business as Kraken Derivatives US, a CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant and NFA Member with NFA ID 0309379. Financing is provided by Payward Accredited LLC.

Darius Tabatabai, Head of Kraken Pro, said, “Margin is a foundational component of global crypto markets, enabling more efficient capital deployment and a broader range of trading strategies.” He added, “For too long, US traders have been excluded from accessing this functionality in a regulated environment. This launch brings a critical piece of market structure onshore in a way that prioritizes transparency, risk management, and regulatory compliance.”

Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, said, “Closing this deal brings a regulated US derivatives stack to Payward, its client and partners. A broker, exchange, clearinghouse purpose-built for digital assets, not adapted to them.” Sethi added, “That stack is what makes the next set of products possible. We’re starting with spot margin on Kraken, with perpetuals and options to follow. All under CFTC regulation, all in the US.”

Payward said Bitnomial will continue operating inside the Payward group with its existing licenses, regulatory structure and third-party businesses intact. Payward also plans to scale Bitnomial’s team and operations as it expands U.S. derivatives capabilities.

Payward Pursues OCC National Trust Charter

Payward has also applied for a national trust company charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, seeking to establish the Payward National Trust Company, or PNTC, as the company expands its regulated U.S. digital asset infrastructure strategy.

According to Payward, PNTC is expected to provide regulated, bank-level custody and trust services for both institutional and individual clients focused on digital assets. The company said the proposed entity would rely on Payward’s existing infrastructure, compliance programs, risk management systems and regulated affiliates to deliver custody services “in a secure and compliant manner.”

The OCC filing places Payward alongside other major crypto firms pursuing federally regulated trust structures in the United States. Coinbase received conditional approval for its own national trust company charter roughly one month earlier, while Ripple has also secured conditional approval.

“Our long-held belief has always been that the right path forward for digital assets runs through robust, transparent regulation,” Payward and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in a statement. “A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody.”

The move comes as some traditional banking interests continue scrutinizing the OCC’s approach toward crypto-related charters. A banking trade group whose board includes JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America previously considered legal action against the OCC over its granting of national trust bank charters to crypto and fintech firms.