On Wednesday, the cryptocurrency industry took a significant step deeper into the established financial system after Kraken Financial, a Wyoming-based digital asset bank, received a Federal Reserve (Fed) master account. According to one expert, Ripple may follow suit.
The approval makes Kraken Financial the first cryptocurrency bank in U.S. history to gain direct access to the Federal Reserve’s payments infrastructure, which many see as a watershed moment for the sector.
Crypto Enters Fed Core System
The announcement signals a structural shift in the way crypto 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. Thanks to the Federal Reserve’s main account, we can operate not as a peripheral participant in the U.S. banking system, but as a directly connected financial institution.
The decision immediately sparked debate about which crypto companies might follow suit. Market expert Paul Barron he argued on social media platform X that Kraken’s approval has effectively “bridged the gap” between crypto companies and the established banking establishment.
Barron noted that by securing the Federal Reserve’s main account, Kraken no longer operates at the edge of the system but instead resides in the same place 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 out that Ripple’s National Trust Bank charter granted in December 2025 represents a fundamental step toward eventual Federal Reserve access.
The final step in Ripple’s RLUSD expansion
According to Barron, direct access to the master account would be the final element necessary to create a dollar-pegged Ripple stablecoin, RLUSDfor the settlement of transactions on a full banking scale.
Barron also addressed the increasing legislative momentum around CLARITY Actarguing that regulatory changes in Washington may enhance pressure on the Federal Reserve to more fully integrate qualified crypto institutions into the financial system.
Ripple management has previously recognized the strategic value of the Federal Reserve’s direct access. In November 2025, Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s CEO, described the concept as an “attractive idea” in a letter. interview with Reuters.
However, Ripple is not alone in pursuing this level of integration. Other cryptocurrency institutions, including federally chartered Anchorage Digital, have also applied to establish Federal Reserve master accounts but have not yet received approval.
At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $1.45, up 6% as the broader cryptocurrency market recovery began early on Wednesday with Bitcoin (BTC) outperforming.
Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
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