Kraken Financial Gains Federal Reserve Master Account Access Under Pilot Program

Kraken Financial, the banking unit of Kraken, received approval to open a master account with the Federal Reserve on March 4, becoming the first digital asset bank in U.S. history with direct access to the Fed's payment infrastructure, the company announced. The authorization, linked to Kraken Financial's Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) charter, follows a regulatory review that began with an application to the Kansas City Federal Reserve in October 2020 and will run initially for one year with a phased rollout focused on institutional clients. Under the Federal Reserve's pilot "Skinny Master Account" model, Kraken Financial can settle funds directly via Fedwire but cannot earn interest on reserves or access emergency lending tools such as the discount window, while reducing reliance on correspondent banks and improving fiat settlement speed and costs for institutional users. Public records show other crypto firms including Custodia Bank, Anchorage Digital, and Ripple have applied for master accounts, and industry advocates say the approval could serve as a reference for additional SPDI-based applications in the evolving U.S. regulatory landscape.