Crypto27 July, 20262 min read
Payward Agrees to Acquire Magic Labs Wallet-As-A-Service to Expand Payward Services
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Payward, Kraken's parent, to acquire Magic Labs' Wallet-as-a-Service unit. Asset sale under restructuring; Magic Labs rebrands to Newton Labs.
Payward buys Magic Labs
Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, agreed to acquire Magic Labs’ wallet-as-a-service business in an asset sale to expand its B2B infrastructure platform, Payward Services.
Payward said Magic Labs’ noncustodial wallet infrastructure has powered more than 60 million wallets and over $10 billion in stablecoin volume for 200,000 developers, and it plans to integrate that technology into Payward Services.
The companies said the transaction is expected to close within weeks, subject to customary closing conditions, and Payward said the wallet technology will be built into Payward Services’ product suite upon closing.
Magic Labs’ CEO Sean Li said the transition would move wallet customers to Payward starting Saturday (Aug. 1), while “everything Newton” continues under Newton Labs.
Newton Protocol focus
In the restructuring, Magic Labs will rebrand as Newton Labs and focus on Newton Protocol, described by Li as “the authorization layer for onchain finance.” Cryptonews.net reported that Li announced the wallet sale and the pivot on X, and said Newton Protocol “checks every transaction against policy before it settles.”
Cryptonews.net also said Newton Protocol is live in production with VaultKit, which enforces compliance, security, identity, and risk controls on DeFi vaults. Cointelegraph reported that after the sale Magic Labs said it will focus on Newton, a platform that helps users and applications securely authorize and verify onchain transactions without relying on centralized intermediaries.
Integration and deal context
Payward Services is positioned as a single integration point for infrastructure businesses need to build always-on financial products, including cryptocurrency trading, custody, tokenized assets, on- and off-ramps, and derivatives. PYMNTS said the Magic Labs technology will extend Payward Services into embedded wallets so partners can offer self-custody and on-chain product experiences without turning to multiple vendors.
The deal follows other Payward acquisitions, including its July 1 completion of an acquisition of payments infrastructure firm Reap, which was designed to open a path to “globally regulated infrastructure” for stablecoin payments and card issuance. CryptoRank added that Payward’s acquisition run includes a May deal to buy CFTC-licensed derivatives exchange Bitnomial for up to $550 million in cash and stock, and a $600 million agreement to acquire Hong Kong-based stablecoin payments firm Reap Technologies.