U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), who chairs the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets, announced that Kraken Financial has received approval for a Federal Reserve master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. This development marks the first time a digital asset company will have direct access to the Federal Reserve’s payments system, allowing Kraken Financial to settle transactions in central bank money.
Kraken Financial is based in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The approval comes after more than five years of review and allows the company to use its limited-purpose master account for payment operations.
“This approval is a watershed moment for the digital asset industry,” said Senator Lummis. “The Federal Reserve has acknowledged what I’ve always said was the case—that a digital asset company can balance innovation with strong risk management. Though approval took five and a half years, the Fed’s actions—at long last—validate Wyoming’s thoughtful regulatory framework. I look forward to resolution of further pending applications in the coming weeks. I congratulate Kraken, the Kansas City Fed, and the Board of Governors for this monumental step towards making payments safer, faster, and cheaper.”
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon commented on the decision as well: “This news has been a long time coming, but Wyoming welcomes it nonetheless. This approval of a master account for Kraken by the Federal Reserve signals support for Wyoming’s banking and digital asset laws. This is good news for our state banks and our special purpose depository institutions. I am pleased by this development. Thank you to Senator Lummis for her steadfast commitment to getting us to this place. She has done yeomen’s work in the banking and finance space.”
Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, described what this means for crypto infrastructure: “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 U.S. banking system, but as a directly connected financial institution. For a Wyoming SPDI structured on a full-reserve model, this creates a uniquely resilient foundation. It gives us the ability to settle directly on Fedwire, reduce dependency on correspondent banks, and integrate regulated fiat liquidity directly into digital asset markets. Over time, this architecture could enable atomic settlement between fiat and crypto, institutional-grade cash management integrated with digital asset custody, and programmable financial products built within a fully regulated framework. This is what it looks like when crypto infrastructure matures into core financial infrastructure.”
Senator Lummis has served as U.S. senator for Wyoming since 2021 and is recognized as the first woman to represent Wyoming in that role according to her official website. She has also previously served in both chambers of Wyoming’s legislature as well as being state treasurer and serving in Congress official website. In addition to her legislative duties related to banking regulation and digital assets, she supports community service efforts across Wyoming communities official website.
