Payward Inc., the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based stablecoin payments provider Reap Technologies for $600M, marking the company's largest acquisition to date. The deal includes both cash and stock, with Payward issuing shares at a $20B valuation, the same valuation the firm announced when it raised $800M in November ahead of filing for an impending IPO. Reap operates as a cross-border payments provider that uses stablecoins to facilitate international business transactions, with infrastructure specifically designed for Asian markets where demand for cryptocurrency-based payment solutions continues to grow. The acquisition is Payward's second major deal in the last month, following the $550M acquisition of derivatives exchange Bitnomial, which was completed last week.
