Exchanges Becoming Global Money Apps
Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, on building the Nasdaq of crypto
The real prize is not custody, it is becoming the operating layer for dollarized commerce outside the banking system. In markets where businesses already save in USDT or USDC, the winning product is the one that lets them move from storing value to paying suppliers, running payroll, drawing credit, and converting into local currency without leaving the app. That is why Kraken talks about the exchange as infrastructure, not just a trading venue.
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Kapital shows what use actually looks like on the ground. A small business can hold stablecoins next to local currency, spend through a card, use credit to pay an overseas supplier, and settle the transfer over crypto rails instead of waiting on bank wires and FX desks.
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Kraken is building the same idea from the exchange outward. Its liquidity pool and on and off ramps support send and receive flows, free transfers across 190 plus countries by KRAK tag, and new products layered on top for merchants, enterprises, banks, and regional partners.
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This expands the exchange revenue model. Kraken still monetizes trading, but deeper product attachment matters because payments, yield, treasury, and banking workflows keep balances active and make stablecoin volume harder for a pure broker or wallet to capture.
The next phase is exchanges and fintechs converging into global money apps for businesses and prosumers. As stablecoins keep winning cross border payment flow, the strongest platforms will be the ones that combine liquidity, compliance, treasury tools, cards, credit, and local banking access into one workflow.