Payward Inc., the parent company of Kraken, has agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies for $600 million to expand into Asian stablecoin payments infrastructure, according to an announcement on Thursday. The deal is being funded through a combination of cash and stock, with Payward issuing shares at a $20 billion valuation, Arjun Sethi, co-chief executive of Payward and Kraken, told Bloomberg. Reap provides stablecoin-based cross-border and business payment services, connecting traditional financial systems with digital assets to facilitate cross-border money flows. The firm is led by Daren Guo — who ... (full story)