Kraken Secures Federal Reserve Master Account, First Crypto Firm to Gain Direct Access

Kraken's Wyoming-chartered banking unit has secured a Federal Reserve master account approved by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, becoming the first crypto firm with direct access to the Fed's core payment systems, BeInCrypto reports. The approval follows Kraken's receipt of a Special Purpose Depository Institution charter from Wyoming in September 2020 and its master account application in October 2020. Ripple applied for a national trust bank charter and Fed master account in July 2025 and received conditional charter approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in December, according to BeInCrypto. Analysts including Paul Barron and X Finance Bull have stated that if Ripple gains Fed master account access, it could integrate Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin and strengthen XRP's role as a bridge asset in cross-border payments, though the Federal Reserve's rails and XRP Ledger would remain separate systems with any XRP benefits being indirect.