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Crypto exchange Kraken said it had been granted access to the Federal Reserve’s core payments systems, a first for the digital assets industry that is increasingly becoming intertwined with the mainstream financial system.
The Fed granted the Wyoming-based exchange a master account with the central bank, the company said on Wednesday. Kraken said it would be able to connect directly into payments infrastructure, including the central bank’s Fedwire service, to transfer dollars for institutional clients to start.
The Fed’s decision to grant Kraken access to its payments network brings the digital assets group in line with major banks and credit unions.
It marks the latest sign of how the crypto industry is moving closer to traditional finance as the Trump administration advocates heavily for digital assets groups.
The banking industry has pushed back against allowing crypto companies access to the Fed’s payments systems. Fedwire is a real-time settlement system that reduces the need for intermediaries.
“Central bank account access can also pose considerable risk to individual reserve banks, to the US payments system and its participants, and to financial stability,” the Bank Policy Institute, Financial Services Forum and The Clearing House Association wrote in a letter in February.
The Kansas City Fed branch said it had approved the “limited purpose account” for an initial term of one year with limitations given Kraken’s business model and attendant risks.
“As we know, the payments landscape is actively evolving,” said Kansas City Fed president Jeff Schmid. “Throughout this transformation, the integrity and stability of the US payments system remain our priority.”
The BPI said it was “deeply concerned” about the development before input from the wider Federal Reserve board.
It said: “This action ignores public comment that the Federal Reserve sought on this framework, and it was issued with no transparency into the process for approval or the risk mitigants that have been imposed to address the very significant risks it raises.”
Kraken has forged a close relationship with Wyoming senator Cynthia Lummis, who is one of crypto’s biggest proponents in Washington and has pushed crypto-friendly policies in her home state.
Wyoming granted Kraken’s charter as a “special purpose depository institution” and Kraken moved its headquarters to the state in 2025.
In February, the company announced plans to sponsor tax-advantaged investment accounts for children in Wyoming, as part of Donald Trump’s “Trump Accounts” scheme.
Lummis has also played a big role in the negotiations around the Clarity Act, a massive piece of legislation to oversee market structure for digital assets.
That legislation has been stalled as banks and crypto groups argue over whether digital asset groups should be allowed to pay interest to stablecoin holders. On Tuesday, Trump said banks “need to make a good deal with the crypto industry” in a post on social media.
