At the Kansas City regional Fed in Wyoming, a rather special episode is unfolding: Kraken, the cryptocurrency exchange platform, has been granted a "master account" with the US Federal Reserve. In other words, its banking subsidiary Kraken Financial can now connect directly to the Fedwire and Fedach payment infrastructures, just like a traditional bank. This direct link to the United States monetary system, usually reserved for banks, is a world first for a crypto-asset company.
What does this change in practical terms?
The Fed "master account" lets Kraken Financial settle its payments in central bank money without going through any intermediary bank. In practice, Kraken will be able to quickly transfer USD from one account to another via Fedwire – a real-time settlement network that moves nearly $4,000 billion between financial institutions every day. This considerably reduces dependence on correspondent banks: funds are routed faster and at a lower cost for Kraken's institutional clients. Of course, this "limited use" account does not offer all the advantages of a traditional bank account – for example, no interest on deposited reserves or access to the discount window. But for the crypto sector, it is already a considerable victory: it marks the convergence between crypto infrastructure and sovereign financial rails.
This exceptional opening is part of a very favorable context for digital assets in the United States. Under the impetus of the Trump administration and regulators, traditional finance is adapting its framework to crypto-assets. President Trump has promised to make the United States the "crypto capital of the world," publicly supporting private stablecoins and the revival of financial innovation. Alongside this, many states such as Wyoming have created banking statuses dedicated to crypto-companies. Kraken Financial, for example, operates a Wyoming SPDI license – a type of bank that must hold 100% reserves against client deposits. This "100% reserve" structure reassures the Fed regarding solvency.
It is notably thanks to these five years of meticulous examination and extensive regulatory oversight that the Fed finally agreed to grant the account. The Kansas City Fed insists that it applied the same strict standards to Kraken as to any other application – classifying the case at the highest level of review amongst institutional requests. President Jeff Schmid of the Kansas City Fed also emphasized the stakes: “the payments landscape is actively evolving,” but “the integrity and stability of the system remain our priority.”
Repercussions for the crypto industry
This decision transforms the operational outlook for Kraken and its competitors. Until now, cryptocurrency exchanges had to go through partner banks to perform USD transfers, exposing platforms to the volatility of banking relationships (funding cuts, delays…). With a direct Fed account, Kraken can now immediately settle deposits and withdrawals in fiat currency for its institutional clients, which should significantly accelerate capital movements on its platform. For professional traders and large investors, this means faster liquidations and fewer operational frictions – a major competitive advantage.
Such a precedent is not without its critics. Traditional banks, represented among others by the Bank Policy Institute, immediately expressed their “deep concern.” They criticize the Fed for ruling without a finalized framework for these special accounts and without transparency regarding the risk controls imposed on Kraken. According to detractors, granting Fed access to an uninsured institution (like an SPDI) poses higher risks to the system because this type of establishment is not subject to regulation as strict as a traditional bank. For example, in the event of a failure in anti-money laundering controls or suspicious flows, direct access to payment infrastructures could allow risky funds to circulate faster through the traditional financial system. Or, according to the Bank Policy Institute, if Kraken encountered an operational or liquidity problem, the Fed would find itself directly exposed to an uninsured crypto player, whereas a traditional bank has a heavier prudential framework.
The Kraken event is part of a global movement where crypto players are seeking to move closer to established financial circuits. In the United States, many large companies (Ripple, Circle, Paxos, Crypto.com, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets…) have in recent months filed applications for national bank charters (trust banks) with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), or received conditional approvals, in order to expand their services and escape the mosaic of state regulations.
This phenomenon is not unique to the United States: other financial centers (Switzerland, Singapore, Luxembourg…) are working to adapt their laws to attract crypto-banks. The US Federal Reserve's choice to test this access via Kraken echoes parallel efforts in other countries – albeit often to varying degrees, depending on national policies. Whether it is the digital petrodollars discussed in the Middle East, regulated stablecoins in Europe, or the Chinese appetite for central bank digital currencies, the opening is global.
But in the background, it is stablecoins that constitute the real seismic shift.
Stablecoins: Unstoppable?
The number of stablecoin transactions on the Visa network is exploding.
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These figures are no coincidence: stablecoins were not born for speculation, but for utility. Because behind every USDT, USDC, or PYUSD, there is a promise: that of a stable, programmable digital dollar accessible to all. Forget volatile fees and the complexity of wallets. Stablecoins settle a transaction in seconds, for less than a cent. They make possible what the traditional banking system has never been able to offer: instant, global payments, available 24/7. Where an international transfer used to cost a 6% commission and three days of waiting, a transfer to the other side of the planet in USDC is settled instantly, for a few cents.
And their utility extends far beyond the crypto sphere. From Stripe to Visa, from PayPal to Revolut, payment giants are already integrating them into their infrastructures. The user doesn't even realize it: they are sending dollars… but these circulate on a blockchain. In Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, or Southeast Asia, stablecoins have become everyday currency.
The story doesn't end there. As artificial intelligence integrates into our lives and commerce, a new era is opening: that of machine-to-machine transactions. Tomorrow, AI agents will negotiate, buy, and sell – and they will need a programmable, stable, and universal currency. For these agents, stablecoins have everything to offer.
History's irony: the United States, long wary of cryptos, now sees stablecoins as a geopolitical asset. The US administration openly supports their development, aware that these crypto-flavored dollars help preserve the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency. The GENIUS Act, recently adopted, marks the first step toward a clear framework: definition of reserve assets, redemption rights, and legal recognition of dollar-backed stablecoins. The whole challenge is there: allowing these cryptocurrencies to develop without stifling innovation.
It must be kept in mind that stablecoins are not trying to replace the dollar. They are trying to make it evolve. And in a world where the velocity of money becomes a lever of economic power, whoever controls the digital rails of the dollar will perhaps control the next global monetary era. Stablecoins are succeeding where Bitcoin has not yet: mass adoption. Their use is daily, tangible, and global. And at this rate, the total value of stablecoins in circulation could, perhaps, within a few years exceed the market cap of Bitcoin, simply because their role is broader: that of lubricating the exchanges of a global monetary system.
