Kraken Parent Payward Takes Institutional Settlement 24/7

Payward, the company behind Kraken, has connected its systems to SGB Net, the settlement network operated by Singapore Gulf Bank, to provide round-the-clock US dollar settlement for selected institutional clients across Asia and the Gulf.

Under the arrangement, Singapore Gulf Bank will also connect to Kraken Prime, giving the bank an additional source of digital-asset liquidity. The bank plans to use Payward’s markets when pricing digital-asset trades for its clients in the coming months.

The partnership targets a longstanding gap between continuously operating digital-asset markets and banking systems that traditionally pause outside business hours.

Bringing Dollar Settlement Beyond Banking Hours

SGB Net allows participating customers to transfer traditional fiat currencies without being restricted by conventional banking schedules. Through its integration with Payward, eligible clients will be able to fund their Payward accounts and have those dollars available for trading immediately, including during weekends.

The service will initially support US dollar transfers, with Payward and Singapore Gulf Bank indicating that additional currencies and clients could be added later. Neither company has provided a timeline for the next phase.

Mark Greenberg, Payward’s chief commercial officer, highlighted the operational challenge facing digital-asset firms, where trading continues around the clock while traditional settlement infrastructure often follows fixed banking hours.

The new connection is designed to narrow that gap by linking Payward’s digital-asset infrastructure with a regulated banking settlement network.

Singapore Gulf Bank Expands Its Digital Banking Infrastructure

Singapore Gulf Bank launched SGB Net in May 2025 as a real-time, multicurrency clearing network serving businesses operating across traditional and digital financial markets.

According to a Payward statement dated October 5, SGB Net is now processing more than $20 billion in fiat transactions each month. The figure was provided by the companies and has not been independently audited in the materials reviewed for this report.

That figure is substantially higher than an earlier benchmark. In February 2026, Singapore Gulf Bank said its monthly fiat transaction volume had exceeded $2 billion, while subsequent partnerships expanded its payments and correspondent-banking relationships.

The bank operates under a license from the Central Bank of Bahrain and provides wholesale and corporate banking services. Despite its name, the institution is based in Bahrain and has backing from Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat and Singapore-based Wompay Group. It obtained its banking license before launching corporate services in late 2024, followed by the introduction of SGB Net the following year.

Standard Chartered and JPMorgan Links Strengthen the Network

Singapore Gulf Bank has been building connections with established financial institutions as it expands its settlement infrastructure.

In May, the bank announced a partnership with Standard Chartered aimed at improving multicurrency clearing and settlement across Asian and Middle Eastern markets. The relationship focuses on correspondent-banking infrastructure and faster settlement for businesses operating in digital-asset markets.

Earlier in January, Singapore Gulf Bank joined JPMorgan’s correspondent banking network and adopted its Wire 365 service, giving clients access to year-round US dollar clearing and continuous cross-border dollar payment capabilities.

The Payward partnership adds a digital-asset liquidity component to that banking infrastructure.

Kraken Prime Adds an Institutional Liquidity Channel

The second component of the agreement centers on Kraken Prime, Payward’s institutional platform providing access to digital-asset trading, liquidity, financing and related services.

Singapore Gulf Bank will use Kraken Prime as an additional liquidity venue for its clients, allowing the bank to connect settlement capabilities with access to digital-asset markets.

SGB Chief Executive Sean Chan said the combination of settlement and liquidity infrastructure would allow customers to move funds when needed.

The companies have not disclosed the expected trading volumes, the digital assets that will be supported or the number of institutions included in the initial rollout. Access to the service is also limited to eligible clients rather than being automatically available to every customer of the bank.

SGB Builds a Bridge Between Fiat and Stablecoins

The Payward partnership forms part of Singapore Gulf Bank’s broader effort to connect traditional banking infrastructure with digital assets.

Separately, SGB has developed a regulated fiat-to-stablecoin interoperability service designed to allow institutions to issue, transfer and trade stablecoins through a banking platform.

The service supports assets including USDC and USDT across networks such as Ethereum, Solana and Arbitrum. SGB has also expanded its capabilities to include direct stablecoin issuance and redemption for selected corporate and high-net-worth clients.

This infrastructure gives institutions additional routes for moving funds between conventional bank accounts and digital assets while keeping the banking relationship within a regulated framework.

Payward Expands Its Institutional Banking Footprint

Banking relationships have become an increasingly important part of Payward’s institutional expansion strategy in 2026.

In September, a similar arrangement with SoFi connected Payward to SoFi’s instant payments network, allowing eligible institutional clients in the United States to conduct US dollar transfers around the clock. SoFi also added Kraken Prime as another liquidity source for digital-asset orders and agreed to list SoFiUSD.

The Singapore Gulf Bank partnership extends that model into selected markets across Asia and the Gulf.

At the same time, Payward has been pursuing regulated infrastructure for digital-asset custody in the United States. In May, the company submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seeking approval to establish Payward National Trust Company as a federally supervised entity for institutional digital-asset custody.

The proposed trust company would provide crypto custody services without taking traditional deposits or making conventional loans. The application had not received final approval at the time of the latest update reviewed, with Payward still listed among digital-asset firms awaiting decisions on federal trust applications in August.

Toward a 24/7 Institutional Financial System

The Payward-Singapore Gulf Bank partnership points to a broader shift in how financial infrastructure is being built around digital assets.

For institutional investors, the challenge is no longer simply gaining access to crypto markets. It is ensuring that banking, settlement and liquidity infrastructure can operate at the same pace as markets that never close.

By linking SGB Net’s continuous fiat settlement with Kraken Prime’s digital-asset liquidity, the two companies are addressing that infrastructure gap across selected Asian and Gulf markets.

For now, the arrangement is limited to eligible institutional clients and US dollar settlement. But the planned addition of other currencies and customers could broaden the model, bringing traditional banking rails and digital-asset markets closer to a genuinely 24/7 financial system.