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Payward expands stablecoin payments footprint via Hong Kong
Payward, the parent of Kraken, said it bought Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies for $600 million to build stablecoin-native payments infrastructure.
Hong Kong is increasingly being positioned as a bridge between stablecoins and traditional finance, as more crypto firms look to serve businesses that need faster access to liquidity, according to the South China Morning Post. In an interview, Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the city offers multi-currency advantages and regulatory clarity that can help companies cut costs and manage risks while expanding into emerging markets.
Sethi also said stablecoins and blockchain are supporting Hong Kong’s evolution into a global, round-the-clock liquidity hub, including for regions with weaker banking infrastructure such as Africa and Latin America. He framed Hong Kong’s role as an advantage rooted in its long history as an international business gateway.
Payward recently completed a US$600 million acquisition of Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies, described as a stablecoin-native payments infrastructure provider. The deal is being treated as Payward’s first and largest stablecoin-native acquisition in Asia, with Sethi adding that the firm plans to expand across Asia, including into Singapore, using Hong Kong as its gateway.