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Krak Launches Multi-Asset Debit Card for U.S. Customers, Built to Reward Spending as Americans Look to Escape Debt Cycle

Business

Krak Launches Multi-Asset Debit Card for U.S. Customers, Built to Reward Spending as Americans Look to Escape Debt Cycle
Business

Business

Krak Launches Multi-Asset Debit Card for U.S. Customers, Built to Reward Spending as Americans Look to Escape Debt Cycle

2026-08-18 21:31 Last Updated At:21:50

CHEYENNE, Wyo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 18, 2026--

Krak, the global money app from the makers of the multi-asset trading platform Kraken, is bringing its innovative multi-asset debit card to U.S. customers, the next phase in a global effort to make any currency or asset as spendable as cash. The Krak Card rewards everyday spending with up to 2% cashback paid as US dollars, or in Bitcoin if the customer chooses, while allowing customers to store money across more than 600 currencies and assets, and spend any of them at checkout. It is available now, both as a physical and virtual card, to anyone who downloads the Krak app.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260817922844/en/

Most Americans feel they're financially falling behind

Krak built the card around a problem it could measure: a growing disconnect between where Americans stand financially and the products designed to serve them. In a national survey of over 2,000 U.S. adults it commissioned*, Krak found that most people want the money they already have and are already spending to work harder for them, without adding to their debt load.

Key findings include:

For Americans trying to leave the credit cycle, and the many who were never given access to it, that viable alternative has been missing.

"People have lost trust in how the financial system treats them, in the rates they're paid, the fees they're charged, and how rewards actually work. They're right to. For decades the system has run on a quiet subsidy: ordinary people's deposits, fees, and spending fund the returns, and those returns rarely flow back to them. The old deal was simple: if you wanted rewards, you had to take on debt to get them. That deal is over. The Krak Card turns whatever people choose to hold into money they can spend anywhere, and pays the value back as cash, not points," said Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward.

The debit card built for spending every asset customers hold

In a crowded card market, Krak Card redefines what a debit card can do by turning a customer's entire portfolio into practical spending power. Instead of being tied to a single asset class, customers have the flexibility to store, spend and grow value in over 600 supported assets, including fiat currencies and cryptoassets. At checkout, Krak instantly converts a pre-determined list of assets into US dollars in real time to settle the purchase, allowing customers to keep their wealth in the form they choose while spending anywhere Visa is accepted worldwide.

A single purchase can even draw from multiple balances. For example, a $100 transaction could use $80 from a U.S. dollar balance and $20 from Euros, Pounds, or even a cryptoasset like Bitcoin or Ethereum, with each asset converted instantly at the point of sale. Customers decide which assets are prioritized, which remain off limits, and retain full control over how they spend and manage their wealth. Because customers set the priority order, they can opt to spend U.S. dollars first and leave crypto holdings untouched, deciding for themselves whether a cryptoasset will be converted and if a taxable event occurs. Reflecting demand for this flexibility, more than half of adults surveyed (53%) said they would value the ability to hold money across hundreds of assets and spend it instantly.

Krak rewards model reflects the same customer-first approach. The Krak Card pays up to 2% cashback, with rates tiered based on the value of assets a customer holds, and it pays out as money rather than points. Rewards arrive in the customer’s account as U.S. dollars the instant the transaction settles, with the option to receive them in Bitcoin instead, and with no redemption process or complex conditions for the customer to decode. This approach also aligns with what people say they want: 57% of adults surveyed said they would rather receive cash deposited directly into their account than points, gift cards, or travel miles.

Built to help customers get ahead, not just get by

Debit cards have long carried a ceiling in people's minds. Nearly a quarter of adults associate them with getting by rather than getting ahead. Krak is designed to move past that. Rewards come from real spending, money moves on bank-grade infrastructure, and value can be stored in whatever form a customer chooses right up to the moment they spend it.

Delivering that in the U.S. meant building with partners who could match the ambition. The Krak Card is issued by Lead Bank, pursuant to a license from Visa, so it is accepted at the millions of merchants worldwide that already take Visa. Stripe Issuing powers the Krak Card for U.S. customers with similar speed and reliability as Krak's international rollout. Together those partnerships turn diversified balances into practical purchasing power, pairing the flexibility of digital assets with the familiarity of a card people already know how to use.

The approach is already working across other markets. Over 135,000 multi-asset Krak cards have been issued across the UK and EEA since December 2025, and the U.S. launch brings that same experience to American customers.

The Krak Card is the foundation of Krak's U.S. offering, which also includes instant global peer-to-peer payments, the ability to earn on the assets customers hold, and Krak Concierge, which turns hotel and travel bookings into boosted cashback inside the Krak app. In the months ahead, Krak will continue bolstering its offering, bringing its multi-asset card and its customer-first rewards model to more markets worldwide, and deepen its account features to meet a wider range of financial needs.

*Survey commissioned by Krak and conducted by Morning Consult among 2,001 U.S. adults from July 2 to 5, 2026, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

About Kraken:

Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world’s longest-standing and most secure crypto platforms globally. Kraken clients trade more than 600 digital assets, traditional assets such as US futures and US-listed stocks and ETFs, and 6 different national currencies, including GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, CHF, and AUD. Trusted by millions of institutions, professional traders and consumers, Kraken is one of the fastest, most liquid and performant trading platforms available.

Kraken’s suite of products and services includes the Kraken App, Kraken Pro, the Krak App, Kraken Institutional, Kraken’s onchain offerings and the Ninja Trader retail trading platform. Across these offerings, clients can buy, sell, stake, earn rewards, send and receive assets, custody holdings, and access advanced trading, derivatives, and portfolio management tools.

Kraken has set the industry standard for transparency and client trust, and it was the first crypto platform to conduct Proof of Reserves. It complies with regulations and laws applicable to its business, while actively protecting client privacy and maintaining the highest security standards.

For more information about Kraken, please visit www.kraken.com.

Your cashback rate depends on the average assets you hold with Krak, Kraken and Kraken Pro. Geo restrictions apply. See theKrak Card Support Centerfor details.

Krak debit card is issued by Lead Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Krak is a financial technology company, not a bank. Account balances are not FDIC- or SIPC-insured. Digital assets converted to USD at purchase; values may fluctuate. Available to eligible US residents only; not available in all states. Seeterms. The Krak debit card will be available in all US states except New York, Maine, Massachusetts and Indiana. We are always working to bring our services to all our users.

Spending crypto may be a taxable event, as conversion to fiat can create capital gains or losses. Consult a tax advisor for your individual circumstances. Krak Concierge is powered by Entravel. Kraken is not a travel agent. Prices and refund policies are set by the provider. Krak may receive a commission from Entravel on completed stays. Geo restrictions apply.

Krak Launches Multi-Asset Debit Card for U.S. Customers, Built to Reward Spending as Americans Look to Escape Debt Cycle

Krak Launches Multi-Asset Debit Card for U.S. Customers, Built to Reward Spending as Americans Look to Escape Debt Cycle

Cape Verde was holding a presidential election on Sunday, a vote that could see the Atlantic island nation off the coast of West Africa elect its first woman president since independence from Portugal in 1975.

Former Justice Minister Joana Rosa is challenging incumbent José Maria Neves, who is seeking a second term. Six candidates are in the running and if no candidate receives more than half the votes, a runoff would be held on Nov. 29.

Rosa is running with the support of the opposition Movement for Democracy, a party that ruled the country for 10 years before losing in the parliamentary elections in May. Women have held senior Cabinet posts, but Cape Verde has never had a female prime minister or president.

In Cape Verde’s parliamentary system, the prime minister directs government policy and holds most executive authority. The president’s role is largely symbolic, although the directly elected head of state can veto legislation.

The country is home to about half a million people and has a record of peaceful transfers of power and competitive elections in a region where that is rare. Nearly 77,000 Cape Verdeans abroad are registered to vote, almost a fifth of the total electorate.

Roselma Évora, a professor of political science and gender studies at the University of Cabo Verde, said that limited economic prospects have been driving young people to seek opportunities abroad. Also, she said, many voters feel distant from their leaders and want a president who understands their daily difficulties.

Neves, who won in 2021 with about 52% of the vote, has pledged to build cross-party support to improve housing, healthcare and education, create jobs and raise wages.

His incumbency has given Neves greater visibility in the race, including among overseas voters, Évora said, adding that Rosa’s candidacy challenges traditional expectations of women’s roles in a society that remains “very patriarchal."

Rosa has centered her campaign on maintaining a balance of power, arguing that the country needs a counterweight to the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde, which backs Neves and controls the government and most municipalities.

Known as PAICV, the party won a parliamentary majority in May, ending a decade of government led by the Movement for Democracy. A Rosa victory would again put the presidency and government in rival political camps.

Rosário Luz, a Cape Verde-based writer, said party loyalties mattered more than Rosa’s gender.

“We have a lot of women in politics, but we don’t have the policies for women that we should have,” she said.

Women carry much of the financial responsibility for their households in Cape Verde, but government policies have failed to address that burden, Luz said.

A vehicle drives past electoral banners for presidential candidates Joana Rosa and José Maria Neves, ahead of the presidential elections in Praia, Cape Verde, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristiano Barbosa)

A vehicle drives past electoral banners for presidential candidates Joana Rosa and José Maria Neves, ahead of the presidential elections in Praia, Cape Verde, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristiano Barbosa)

Cape Verde president José Maria Neves speaks during a rally ahead of the presidential elections, in Praia, Cape Verde, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristiano Barbosa)

Cape Verde president José Maria Neves speaks during a rally ahead of the presidential elections, in Praia, Cape Verde, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristiano Barbosa)

Supporters of Cape Verde president José Maria Neves cheer during a rally ahead of the presidential elections, in Praia, Cape Verde, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristiano Barbosa)

Supporters of Cape Verde president José Maria Neves cheer during a rally ahead of the presidential elections, in Praia, Cape Verde, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristiano Barbosa)

People walk past an electoral banner for Cape Verde president José Maria Neves, ahead of the presidential elections, in Praia, Cape Verde, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristiano Barbosa)

People walk past an electoral banner for Cape Verde president José Maria Neves, ahead of the presidential elections, in Praia, Cape Verde, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristiano Barbosa)

Electoral banners showing presidential candidates Joana Rosa and José Maria Neves, ahead of the presidential elections in Praia, Cape Verde, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristiano Barbosa)

Electoral banners showing presidential candidates Joana Rosa and José Maria Neves, ahead of the presidential elections in Praia, Cape Verde, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristiano Barbosa)

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