Kraken vs. PayPal vs. Revolut

The war to win cross-border payments.

Kraken has unveiled a payment platform to compete directly with PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and MoonPay. [ANNOUNCEMENT]

The core thesis: leverage crypto rails to eliminate the intermediaries and delays that plague traditional cross-border payments.

But Krak isn't just another payment app trying to be the next Venmo.

It's attempting something far more ambitious: becoming the everything app for money, aiming at the $213 billion cross-border payments market.

The Opportunity

The global cross-border payments market is projected to reach $321 billion by 2030 (7.1% CAGR), driven by persistent inefficiencies in traditional infrastructure:

• Cost friction: World Bank data shows 6.4% average fees for $200 transfers—more than double the UN's 3% target

• Speed friction: Traditional bank transfers require 1-3 days vs. blockchain settlements in minutes

• Access friction: 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked, excluded from formal remittance channels

KRAK

Krak attempts to restructure payment rails entirely using blockchain infrastructure. It’s a peer-to-peer payments app for 𝗳𝗶𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝘆𝗽𝘁𝗼 across 100+ countries.

With Krak, Kraken aims to make banks, payment processors, and money transfer services obsolete.

The core promise: Send any amount, anywhere, instantly, for free. Whether it's $5 or $5,000. Whether it's to your neighbour or someone in Nigeria.

This means:

• Payments: Free, instant transfers globally using "Kraktags" (think Venmo handles, but worldwide)

• Banking: Earn 4.1% on balances held in USDG, Krak’s stablecoin

• Investing: Trade 300+ assets—stocks, crypto, everything—from one account

• Identity: Your Kraktag becomes your universal financial username

• Credit: Borrow against your holdings without credit checks (yet to release)

Why it matters: Payments and global remittances remain costly due to outdated infrastructure and the involvement of multiple intermediaries: banks, payment processors, and correspondent networks. By using crypto payments, individuals can reduce transaction fees by up to 80%, bypassing third-party platforms and streamlining the transfer process.

By the data: Global remittance flows hit $905B in 2024, while Venmo alone has 91.2M users who are used to instant payments, but only within the U.S.

Hence, a piece of cake for everyone, and Krak definitely has the first-mover advantage.

Kraken’s first mover advantage:

• Existing user base: 2.5M+ accounts with $665B trading volume

• Deep pockets: $1.5B in 2024 revenue provides runway for user acquisition wars

• Regulatory experience: Over a decade building money transmission licenses; EU MiCA license (December 2024) provides 30-country passporting rights

• Technical infrastructure: Already processing billions in transactions securely

On top of that, Kraken has secured a license in Ireland under the EU's new crypto rules, allowing it to offer services across 30 European countries.

With that, Kraken aims becomes the one-stop app to store, send, spend, and earn.

Money Movement 2.0

Krak vs. PayPal vs. Revolut

Kraken’s not alone.

Crypto giants like Binance and Crypto.com are also building out payment rails.

In fact, they’ve got a leg up on PayPal and Venmo — which only support P2P transfers for five cryptos and only for U.S. users.

Let’s be real: when it comes to trust, PayPal and Venmo still win.

People trust them with real money. They’ve been around. They’re regulated. Your parents probably use them.

Now compare that to Kraken or Binance.

Until crypto platforms reach the same level of regulatory clarity and consumer trust, they’ll remain on the fringe for mainstream payments.

On top of that, they’re protecting massive fiat user bases and billion-dollar reputations.

Crypto Payments Landscape

Are you a digital asset company? Work with us to break through.

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What could go wrong?

• Scale disadvantage: PayPal has 450M users. Zelle has 151M. Kraken? 10M funded accounts. That’s a 15x+ gap. In payments, scale isn’t optional, it’s the moat.