The crypto industry took a significant step deeper into the traditional financial system on Wednesday after Kraken Financial, a Wyoming-chartered digital asset bank, was granted a Federal Reserve (Fed) master account. According to one expert, Ripple may follow suit.
The approval makes Kraken Financial the first crypto-focused bank in US history to gain direct access to the Federal Reserve’s payment infrastructure, a development many see as a landmark moment for the sector.
Crypto Enters Fed’s Core System
The announcement signals a structural shift in how crypto-native institutions interact with the US banking system. With a master account, Kraken Financial can connect directly to the Fed’s payment rails rather than relying on intermediary banks to process transactions. Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, said:
This milestone marks the convergence of crypto infrastructure and sovereign financial rails. With a Federal Reserve master account, we can operate not as a peripheral participant in the US banking system, but as a directly connected financial institution.
The decision immediately sparked discussion about which crypto firms might follow. Market expert Paul Barron argued on social media platform X that Kraken’s approval has effectively “bridged a gap” between crypto companies and the traditional banking establishment.
By securing a Federal Reserve master account, Barron noted, Kraken is no longer operating on the outskirts of the system but instead sits on the same Fedwire infrastructure used by major financial institutions such as JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. “This is BIG!” he wrote.
Barron went further, suggesting that Ripple could be next in line. He pointed to Ripple’s National Trust Bank charter, granted in December 2025, as a foundational step toward eventual Federal Reserve access.
Final Step For Ripple’s RLUSD Expansion
In Barron’s view, direct access to a master account would be the final component needed for Ripple’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, to settle transactions at full banking scale.
Barron also referenced growing legislative momentum around the CLARITY Act, arguing that regulatory developments in Washington may be increasing pressure on the Federal Reserve to integrate qualified crypto institutions more fully into the financial system.
Ripple executives have previously acknowledged the strategic value of direct Federal Reserve access. In November 2025, Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s CLO, described the concept as “an attractive idea” in an interview with Reuters.
Yet, Ripple is not alone in seeking this level of integration. Other crypto-focused institutions, including federally chartered Anchorage Digital, have also applied for Federal Reserve master accounts but have not yet received approval.
As of this writing, XRP was trading at $1.45, up 6% amid a wider crypto market recovery that began early on Wednesday with Bitcoin’s (BTC) lead.
Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
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