Kraken Parent Payward Acquires Magic Labs Wallet Infrastructure

Payward plans to fold Magic Labs’ wallet stack—which includes a trusted execution environment-based signing system and developer SDK—into Payward Services. This platform currently provides custody, trading, and fiat-to-crypto payments for institutional clients. By integrating this technology, Payward aims to allow partners to offer self-custody wallets without juggling multiple infrastructure providers.

Magic Labs is rebranding as Newton Labs and will remain independent to focus on the Newton Protocol, a system for pre-settlement policy checks on onchain transactions. Existing wallet customers are scheduled to transition to Payward’s service starting August 1, with the company promising no interruption to current integrations. While financial terms remain undisclosed, Magic previously raised over $80 million, including a significant strategic round led by PayPal Ventures.

This acquisition follows a series of aggressive moves by Payward to diversify beyond the core Kraken exchange. Recent additions include the derivatives firm Bitnomial, stablecoin payments provider Reap, and tokenised securities firm Backed Finance. These transactions build out a comprehensive infrastructure suite covering everything from derivatives to automated financial agents, positioning Payward as a primary backend provider for banks and fintech firms.