Kraken Financial Receives a Limited Federal Reserve Account
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City approved a limited-purpose account for Kraken Financial, the Wyoming-chartered special purpose depository institution operated by Payward. The decision gave a digital-asset-focused bank a restricted direct connection to Federal Reserve payment infrastructure.
On March 4, 2026, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City approved a limited-purpose account for Payward Financial, doing business as Kraken Financial. Kraken Financial is a Wyoming-chartered Special Purpose Depository Institution created to serve digital-asset clients.
The account was not an unrestricted Federal Reserve master account. The Kansas City Fed classified Kraken Financial as a Tier 3 institution and approved the account for an initial one-year term with restrictions and limitations tailored to its business model and risk profile.
The distinction was important, but so was the access itself. Digital-asset businesses had spent years depending heavily on correspondent banks for access to dollar payment rails. Giving a crypto-focused regulated bank even limited direct Federal Reserve access marked a notable shift in the relationship between the U.S. central-banking system and institutions serving Bitcoin markets.