Kraken Gains Fed Access: Could Ripple Follow With Its Own Master Account?

Kraken’s latest regulatory milestone has fueled speculation across the crypto community about whether Ripple could be next in line.

While there is no official confirmation, the prospect of gaining access to the Federal Reserve’s core payment infrastructure would carry significant implications for Ripple.

Kraken’s Fed Access Draws Attention to Ripple

Yesterday, BeInCrypto reported that Kraken’s Wyoming-chartered banking arm secured access to the Federal Reserve’s core payment systems. Notably, Kraken is the first crypto firm to gain a Federal Reserve master account.

The latest milestone comes after the firm secured a Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) charter from the state of Wyoming in September 2020. The following month, Kraken applied for a master account with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, which was approved yesterday.

Following the news, attention has begun to shift toward Ripple. In a recent post on X, journalist and social media personality Paul Barron argued that Ripple may be next in line for similar access. Other analysts have echoed this view.

In July 2025, the company applied for a national trust bank charter and a Federal Reserve master account. In December, BeInCrypto reported that Ripple had received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for the charter.

Barron noted the bank charter was “the setup.” He added that direct Fed access would be the “final piece” for RLUSD to settle at full banking scale.

“The ‘CLARITY Act’ momentum is forcing the Fed’s hand. See what’s happening from DC Insiders right now – the tide is shifting. The ‘Crypto vs. Banks’ battle is over. But the war is just beginning,” he said.

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Another analyst from X Finance Bull also remarked that while the timelines may differ, the destination remains the same.

“Kraken already integrated Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin for their payment platform. That’s not a coincidence. That’s infrastructure connecting. But why did Kraken get it first and not Ripple? Simple. Kraken applied years ago. Wyoming bank charter in 2020. Routing number in 2022. Been in line at the Fed since then. Ripple filed for the same Fed access in July 2025 through Standard Custody. National trust bank got OCC approval in December,” X Finance Bull added.

If Ripple Gains a Fed Master Account, What Could It Mean for XRP?

It is important to note that Ripple has not yet received full approval from the OCC. Additionally, Kraken’s success does not necessarily indicate that the Federal Reserve will make a similar decision regarding Ripple.

Even if the application is approved, the process could extend over several years, similar to Kraken’s lengthy timeline. Still, if Ripple were granted approval, this would place it within the core US banking settlement system.

For XRP, the development could incrementally strengthen its role as a bridge asset within Ripple’s payments network, though the extent of any real-world impact remains uncertain.

Ripple’s infrastructure uses the XRP Ledger to facilitate cross-border transactions, where XRP serves as a short-term intermediary between two fiat currencies.

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A Fed master account would improve the fiat settlement side of that equation, allowing Ripple to move dollars faster, which could make the overall payment corridor more attractive to institutional clients.

However, it’s worth noting that the Fed’s payment rails and the XRP Ledger operate as separate systems. XRP itself would not flow through FedWire or FedNow. Thus, any efficiency gains would be indirect, improving the fiat on-ramps and off-ramps around XRP rather than upgrading the asset itself. Whether this translates into meaningfully greater XRP utility depends on factors beyond the master account alone.

The master account, if approved, would be a notable achievement for Ripple as a company. Its effect on XRP specifically could be real but secondary.