Kraken Launches Multi-Asset Debit Card in US as Exchange Giants Compete on Financial Services

Kraken’s Krak Launches Multi-Asset Debit Card

Kraken has expanded its consumer financial services offerings with the launch of a multi-asset debit card through its Krak payment application, now available to eligible customers across the United States. The card represents another chapter in Payward’s broader ambition to build a comprehensive financial services platform that operates at a scale comparable to traditional financial institutions.

The newly available card enables US users to spend both cryptocurrency holdings and traditional fiat currency while earning cashback rewards on transactions. Cardholders can accumulate up to 2% cashback, which can be paid out in either US dollars or Bitcoin. The card’s technical infrastructure provides access to more than 600 different cryptocurrencies and assets, with all holdings automatically converted to US dollars at the moment of purchase. Users have the flexibility to draw from multiple asset balances within a single transaction, with the ability to customize which assets are spent in their preferred order. Lead Bank issues the card on Visa’s network infrastructure, while Stripe Issuing powers the underlying payment technology. Both physical and virtual card versions are available to qualified US residents, with cashback rewards scaling based on the average amount of assets users maintain across their Krak, Kraken, and Kraken Pro accounts.

International Expansion and Consumer Demand

Krak has already demonstrated significant market traction beyond the US. The application has distributed more than 135,000 multi-asset cards across the United Kingdom and countries within the European Economic Area since launching there in December 2025. This international success suggests growing consumer appetite for cryptocurrency-integrated financial products. A survey commissioned by Krak and conducted by Morning Consult among 2,001 US adults revealed compelling consumer preferences for debt-free rewards structures. The research found that approximately 42% of credit card holders experience anxiety around meeting their monthly payment obligations, while around 60% of survey respondents indicated they would switch to a debit card offering rewards without requiring users to carry credit card debt.

Payward’s Vision for Financial Services Expansion

The card launch reflects Payward’s strategic evolution beyond its traditional role as a cryptocurrency exchange. Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward, outlined the company’s vision at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, emphasizing the organization’s development of banking services and its positioning of tokenization as a cornerstone of its financial services strategy. Sethi indicated that Payward aspires to build capabilities and products that rival major conventional financial institutions. This positioning reflects a broader industry trend in which cryptocurrency exchanges are diversifying far beyond spot trading. Coinbase and others have expanded into equities, derivatives, prediction markets, tokenized assets, and pre-IPO investment products. Consistent with this strategy, Kraken also launched trading access to more than 7,000 US-listed stocks for customers in the European Economic Area this same week, demonstrating the exchange’s commitment to building a multi-asset financial services ecosystem.

As major cryptocurrency exchanges build out comprehensive financial services platforms, the infrastructure supporting mainstream adoption of digital assets continues to strengthen.

Source: Kraken, via Cointelegraph. Not financial advice.