Kraken may play second fiddle to Coinbase in the U.S., but the crypto exchange has been on a tear as it prepares for a potential initial public offering. In just the past two weeks, Kraken has announced its groundbreaking approval for a limited purpose Federal Reserve master account, as well as a new partnership with NASDAQ to offer tokenized stocks. In the latest episode of Fortune’s Crypto Playbook podcast—available on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube—co-CEO Arjun Sethi explained why Kraken’s goal isn’t to disrupt the banking system. “It’s to make the plumbing of the financial system safer and more efficient,” he said.
Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the longest-tenured crypto companies in the U.S. Sethi, who cofounded the venture capital firm Tribe Capital, has served as the CO-CEO of the exchange since 2024. In the role, he has helped spearhead the company’s push into merging blockchain technology with traditional finance. That has included the 2025 launch of xStocks, which provides traders with tokenized versions of stocks and ETFs like Tesla and Apple.
Sethi says Kraken’s recent developments will help propel the company’s vision of reshaping the rails of global finance. As other crypto companies race for Fed master accounts, Kraken became the surprising first recipient thanks to its Wyoming-chartered bank. Sethi argued that Kraken’s new access to the Fed’s payment systems will help the exchange’s customers move assets across its different products and store collateral. And while Kraken has not yet been granted the full range of Fed services, including the payment of interest on reserves, Sethi expressed optimism that would change. “I’ve never heard of a Fed master account being a pilot,” he said.
