Arjun Sethi, Kraken Co-CEO

With Krak, we have taken a bold step towards restructuring what we consider to be the most important layer of the world economy.

As far as I can remember, moving money felt broken. It’s one of the basics you expect to work, but whether you send a few dollars to a continental friend or wire funds, the process is slow, expensive and frustratingly opaque. That’s not the case in 2025.

Problem: A system left broken and broken

Most people don’t understand how old-fashioned financial infrastructure is yet. Traditional banks today are often run with software built in the 1970s. Many of the systems that enhance international payments have not been upgraded effectively in decades.

You can send messages and videos instantly anywhere in the world, but sending $100 can take several days.

This is primarily due to how fragmented and risk-averse traditional systems are. Domestic payments rely on batch processing. Crossbirder transfers include a daisy chain of correspondent banks, each with additional time, cost and friction. Regulatory barriers provide even more silo access.

And high prices – from wire fees to card interchanges to hidden FX markups, they’re everywhere.

Consider the scale of the problem

For most of the world, the simple act of sending or receiving money digitally remains a privilege rather than a fundamental right.

• Globally, more than 1.4 billion adults remain banks, leaving them completely excluded from the financial system.
• Even in an advanced economy, everyday users lose 2-3% in card transaction fees.
• International remittance fees get worse – often exceeding 6%, with some remittance corridors reaching double digits.

Much of this is rooted in outdated infrastructure. Many banks use mainframe systems written in COBOL (common business-oriented language), avoiding upgrades due to costs and risk. Regulations add even more complexity. Multiple jurisdictions, overlapping requirements, and “derisk” behaviors lead to uneven financial access and slower innovation.

Meanwhile, global reconciliation remains surprisingly slow. ACH transfer may take 2-3 business days, and international wiring may take 3-5 days. The system continues to process payments in batches without a real-time global clearing layer. What you need to do instantly is still slotted by a system that treats money like paper.

result? A financial world filled with delays, tolls and exclusion.

What we’re building instead

Krak is an all-in-one global money app built from the ground up on the Crypto infrastructure. It combines the familiarity of traditional funds with the speed, openness and flexibility of modern blockchain networks.

Krak is more than just another wallet or payment tool. It’s about completely rethinking how money works.

With Krak you can:

• Use Kraktags (the version of the payment handle) to instantly send and receive funds from over 160 countries.
• Translate over 300 assets seamlessly from Fiat, Crypto and Stablecoins.
• You earn rewards simply by retaining value in your account. There are no subscriptions. There is no lockup. There is no nonsense.
• Soon, spend worldwide on physical and virtual Krak cards.

This means that the financial system should have been lined up all along. Fast, borderless, open, not allowed.

Krak uses Stablecoins fully backed by reserves. Hold USDG and earn up to 4.1% APR from day 1. You can also earn up to 10% by staking other crypto assets. There is no minimum or hoop to jump.

And soon, you can borrow directly to your holdings using collateral-based loans. There are no credit checks. There are no documents. All you need to do is access to liquidity at any time.

I built this on unauthorized infrastructure. Public blockchain resolves transactions worldwide in real time. Assets are portable, interoperable and under your control. There is no intermediary to insert friction or costs. That means faster settlements, lower fees and more access.

I also believe in the issues of identity and access. Removes the need for a Kraktags account number or crypto wallet string. Sending value to friends next door and friends all over the world can be as intuitive as sending a message.

Why is this important?

At the heart of every economy is the ability to trade. The faster and cheaper you can move value, the more opportunities people will have. And when the cost of moving money drops to near zero, a new form of financial adjustment is possible.

This is not just about cryptography. It’s about making the financial system work better for everyone.

People don’t want any more features. They want less problems. They hope that they can send money, retain value, invest and borrow money without being punished at every step. They want to trust the company they use. And they want access to tools that will help them move forward – not an existing fee account.

Above all, they want a financial system that reflects how the world today works: digital, global, and always on.

Krak removes friction. There are no wire cutoffs. There will be no three-day settlements. There is no 6% fee to send money to your family. You will not be denied access to your own funds because of where you live or the amount you earned.

We believe that basic financial services are universally accessible and that money needs to travel as easily as information.

Where to go from here

The kraku is just the beginning. We see it as the foundation. Core building blocks of how people manage their money everywhere in the future.

This will be a long journey. There are things to improve, features to refine, systems to enhance. But our goal is clear. Remove friction from finance, move value freely, and build what people actually want to use.

We are not here to rebuild our bank.

We are here to build what comes here.

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken unveiled Krak, a new mobile payment app that allows users to send digital assets and fiat currencies to recipients in more than 110 countries.

The app supports over 300 currencies and aims to usurp the dominance of established financial apps such as PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App.

Developed to offer a faster and more flexible alternative to traditional finance tools, Krak enables users to transfer money using a unique identifier called a “Kraktag,” eliminating the need to link a bank account for transactions. The app handles both crypto and fiat transfers internally, streamlining cross-border payments.

Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi in a statement:

“We believe moving money should be as simple and borderless as sending a message,. With Krak, we’re offering a next-generation tool that challenges outdated financial rails and brings crypto and fiat into a single experience.”

The launch marks a significant step in Kraken’s broader strategy to evolve into a multi-asset financial platform. The San Francisco-based firm has historically focused on crypto trading but is now pushing into areas traditionally dominated by legacy institutions.

The company said users will also be able to earn returns through stablecoin-based yield products within the app, beginning with Paxos’ USDG.

Earlier this year, Kraken moved into traditional markets by offering equities and ETF trading in select U.S. states. The firm also completed a $1.5 billion acquisition of futures trading platform NinjaTrader in March, deepening its footprint in derivatives and traditional finance.

Kraken’s expansion comes after a period of legal uncertainty. In March, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dropped a lawsuit against the company that alleged it was operating as an unregistered securities exchange.

The resolution paved the way for new product development and cleared a major hurdle ahead of Kraken’s planned public listing. Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the longest-operating digital asset exchanges and has consistently expanded its services to a global user base.

With the launch of Krak, the firm aims to provide a unified interface for money movement, whether users are sending dollars, euros, or Bitcoin, without relying on traditional intermediaries.

Krak is now available to users in eligible jurisdictions, and the company says it intends to roll out additional features in the coming months, including integration with other financial products and enhanced identity tools for enterprise payments.

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