Two of crypto's most trusted, security-first brands are joining forces to allow users to more easily interact with Payward's trading, payments, and tokenized equities infrastructure from their Ledger devices and applications
CHEYENNE, Wyo. and PARIS, France — SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 — Payward, the parent company of Kraken and the developer of the xStocks tokenized equities framework, and Ledger, the global leader in digital asset security for individuals and institutions, today announced a strategic partnership to strengthen the connection between secure self-custody and the broader financial infrastructure powering the digital asset economy. Bringing together two companies that have helped define security standards across crypto, the collaboration combines Payward’s trusted trading and market infrastructure with Ledger’s industry-leading self-custody and security infrastructure, enabling customers to access global markets and digital asset services more seamlessly while maintaining full control of their assets.
The integrations share a single principle: the security of holding your own keys should not come at the cost of access. Through this collaboration, Ledger and Payward aim to make it easier for customers to access and interact with crypto offerings across CeFi platforms and onchain ecosystems while maintaining strong personal security practices.
"Self-custody and exchange access shouldn't feel like separate experiences and ecosystems. The investors who care most about controlling their assets are often the same ones who need deep liquidity, trusted market infrastructure, and secure access to the broader financial system,” said David Ripley, Co-CEO of Payward. “By partnering with Ledger, we’re building where the industry is heading: a future where secure self-custody and global financial infrastructure work hand in hand to provide powerful and seamless trading experiences."
"Ledger brings the hardware-enforced security infrastructure that the entire digital asset ecosystem depends on — securing not just value, but access itself,” said Pascal Gauthier, Chairman & CEO of Ledger. “Through this partnership, we're giving retail users and, through Ledger Enterprise, the banks and fintechs building on institutional-grade rails, secure access to Payward's financial infrastructure, backed by Ledger's uncompromising security. This is self-custody and global markets working as one, at every scale."
Under the partnership, Kraken customers will be able to use their Ledger signer directly within the Kraken experience. Built using Ledger's Device Management Kit, customers will seamlessly fund and withdraw assets and sign transactions, with full Clear Signing support, using the same device they already trust to secure their value. Each integration is designed to reduce friction while strengthening security, allowing customers to move assets seamlessly between self-custody and Kraken's platform with greater confidence and convenience.
In parallel, Payward Services, Payward’s B2B infrastructure platform, will become an embedded buy, sell, and swap provider inside Ledger's Wallet, beginning with debit card and bank transfer support across Europe and the UK, with expansion to further payment rails and geographies expected over time. For millions of Ledger users, it means they can buy, sell and move crypto with Payward while keeping control of their keys.
This partnership lays the foundation for an ongoing collaboration between the two companies. Ledger and Payward Services are working together to integrate xStocks, Payward's industry-leading tokenized equities offering, more deeply across Ledger Wallet to allow users to access US and international equities markets onchain. xStocks has already surpassed $42 billion in total transaction volume, and the integration will let Ledger customers around the world buy, sell, and transact hundreds of tokenized equities directly from self-custody. Payward Services will also work with Ledger Enterprise to give Ledger's growing base of banks, fintechs, and financial institutions access to trading, qualified custody, payments and funding rails through a signle integration with Kraken's exchange infrastructure.
Together, these integrations bring two critical infrastructure layers of the digital asset ecosystem closer together: the hardware-enforced security infrastructure layer that protects customer assets, and the financial infrastructure layer that enables trading, payments, and market access.
About Payward:
Payward, Inc. is a unified financial infrastructure platform that powers a family of products advancing an open, global financial system. Built on a single shared architecture, Payward enables customers to hold, trade, earn, pay, and invest across asset classes without friction or fragmentation.
At its core, Payward provides the infrastructure layer behind Kraken and a growing set of purpose-built products, including NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, and CF Benchmarks.
Payward separates infrastructure from product expression. Each product surface is designed for a specific customer segment, regulatory regime, and use case, while operating on the same global foundation:
One global liquidity pool
One unified risk and margin engine
One collateral and settlement system
One compliance and licensing framework
This shared architecture allows Payward to scale efficiently, launch new products at low marginal cost, and serve diverse global markets while maintaining consistent risk management, regulatory integrity, and operational resilience.
For more information about Payward, please visit www.payward.com.
About Ledger:
Founded in 2014, LEDGER™ is the global leader in digital asset security for individuals and institutions. Ledger Wallet™, the all-in-one crypto app, offers a complete, secure platform where users can securely buy, sell, swap, spend, and earn rewards with their crypto*, secured by the iconic Ledger signers. With more than 8 million signers sold in 165+ countries and 10+ languages, Ledger is the trusted solution for individuals to exercise digital ownership, portfolio management, and control. Almost 30% of BTC and more than 30% of Dollar stablecoins held by retail investors is secured by Ledger.
Ledger is secure by design. Its world-renowned white-hat security team, Ledger Donjon, is a crucial resource for securing the entire digital asset space. With billions lost yearly to hacks, scams, and mismanagement, Ledger’s uncompromising security brings peace of mind and true control over their assets to its community.
Don’t buy “a hardware wallet.” Use the Ledger Wallet app with your Ledger signer.
LEDGER™, LEDGER WALLET™, LEDGER RECOVER™, LEDGER STAX™, LEDGER FLEX™ and LEDGER NANO™ are trademarks owned by Ledger SAS
*Crypto transaction services are provided by third-party service providers. Ledger provides no advice or recommendations to use any of these third-party services. Rewards are not guaranteed.
Media contacts:
Lauren Post
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Phillip Costigan
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