Kraken Launches New Krak Card As Banking Alternative Ahead of Planned IPO

Crypto exchange Kraken has launched a new Mastercard-powered debit card, Krak, with 1% cashback and multi-asset spending across the UK and EU. The new Krak card is part of a phased global rollout of its Krak money app, which aims to evolve into an alternative to traditional bank accounts and neobanks.

Kraken Launches New Debit Card

Kraken is launching a Bitcoin-based debit card using the Mastercard network to users based in the European Union and the United Kingdom, the company said on Tuesday. The Krak Card, named after the peer-to-peer payments application Krak, will provide users with 1% percent cash back on any sales, in Bitcoin or the local fiat currency.

The card is linked to the spending balance of a user within the Krak application. Holders of the Krak card can pay anywhere worldwide with any of the over 400+ supported assets at any merchant accepting Mastercard. 

Although the user can issue a spend order, specifying which currencies they prefer to spend, Krak will automatically combine the cryptos the user holds to complete a transaction. So, if the user has set Bitcoin as their preferred currency, when their BTC balance falls too low to complete a transaction, the Krak card automatically includes other assets like ETH or SOL to complete the transaction. 

Although there are no monthly or annual fees with the card, an asset spread fee is charged when assets are sold to complete a transaction. In the next couple of weeks, the Krak Card will be deployed to other countries. In the long run, the company expects to introduce more card products, rewards, and credit products.

Krak App: The Big Picture

The Krak card is part of the Krak App, which the exchange launched in June as a competitor to popular peer-to-peer payments options like Venmo and Cash App. In the announcement, Kraken revealed that the Krak app has been downloaded over 450,000 times in over 130 different countries. 

According to Kraken, the aim is to move from starter features and transform the app into an alternative to traditional bank accounts and neobanks. Kraken also indicated that in the near future, it would launch Krak Vaults, the easiest method to make your assets work automatically and continuously. No minimums, no lockups. 

Kraken Vaults will offer market-leading returns paid without end as your vault is compounding day and night. You have the option of flexible, risk-adjusted Vaults to the level of your comfort:

• Balanced Yield offers up to 5.5% APY 
• Boosted Yield offers up to 9.5% APY 
• Advanced Strategies offers up to 10%+ APY

Introducing Vaults will establish the basis of the revolution of the Krak app, enabling entry into the world of DeFi. Moreover, Kraken stated that salary deposits will be coming soon to customers in the UK and EU.

Kraken’s Expansion Ahead of IPO

The launch of the Krak card comes just after the exchange raised $800 million in a funding round and announced its IPO filing. While Kraken has not yet announced how many shares or at what price it aims to IPO, the expansion into the UK and EU with the Krak card aligns with the company’s goal of releasing new products and expanding into new markets.