‘Last large fintech in the world’ Klarna to embrace crypto amid upcoming IPO

Swedish fintech giant Klarna has finally succumbed to pressure from its 80+ million user base to offer crypto services. The development comes as the company prepares for its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) in the US, targeted for April with a valuation of up to $15 billion, making it one of the largest listings of the year.

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, posted on X, “Ok. I give up. Klarna and me will embrace crypto! More to come… Last large fintech in the world to embrace it. Someone had to be last.” He added:

“Btw all crypto fans. Tell me what we should do with it? We have 85 m users worldwide. 100 bn of volume. Over 0.5 m merchants. About 30% of volume is debit not credit. Over 1 million cards. I have some ideas but keen to hear more!”

The news of Klarna’s crypto venture sparked intense interest among investors and builders in the space, with responses from “just add bitcoin to your balance sheet,” to offers to build within specific ecosystems such as Cosmos and Solana.

Co-founder & chairman of Safello AB, a leading crypto exchange in the Nordics, FrankSchuil, commented:

“Klarna has a $14.6B valuation and $96B GMV in 2023. This impacts its 85M+ users and the broader fintech space. Crypto transactions could integrate with its BNPL model, potentially processing billions in digital assets.”

He suggested that some potential applications for Klarna could be integrating crypto as a payment option, enabling merchants to accept payments through Klarna’s platform, and enhancing the Klarna mobile app with a built-in crypto wallet feature.

Klarna was founded in 2005 and went on to become Europe’s most valuable startup in 2021 after a fundraising round valued it at $46 billion. Its decision to embrace crypto may be a signal to other resistant TradFi entities, proving it’s never too late to enter the space and unlock potential new avenues for growth.