Klarna Teams With Stripe’s Privy to Build Crypto Wallet ‘For the Masses’
Klarna has signed a research partnership with Privy, a wallet infrastructure platform owned by Stripe, to explore and co-design a potential crypto wallet experience for Klarna users, according to a Thursday press release.
The companies said the effort is focused on developing wallet features that would let users store, send, and use digital assets directly within Klarna’s financial products. Klarna also said the wallet is intended to provide access to a “wide variety of digital assets.”
Klarna CEO and co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski framed the initiative as an attempt to make crypto products more accessible to mainstream consumers. “Millions already trust Klarna to manage everyday spending, saving, and shopping,” he said, adding that the company believes that positions it well to bring digital-asset functionality into familiar consumer finance workflows.
The partnership highlights how large fintech platforms are increasingly exploring ways to integrate crypto features without requiring users to leave their existing apps. Rather than treating crypto as a separate destination, Klarna’s approach is described as embedding wallet capabilities inside services people already use for payments and personal finance.
Privy, now part of Stripe, provides the underlying wallet infrastructure Klarna is tapping as it researches and tests potential product designs. Klarna described the work as exploratory and centered on research and co-development, rather than announcing a finalized consumer launch timeline.
The move also follows Klarna’s recent activity in digital assets, including its KlarnaUSD stablecoin initiative, as the company continues expanding beyond its “buy now, pay later” roots into a broader financial services ecosystem.
- What happened: Klarna and Stripe-owned Privy formed a research partnership to explore an in-app crypto wallet.
- What it would do: Enable Klarna users to store, send, and use digital assets within Klarna’s products.
- Why it matters: It signals continued fintech interest in integrating crypto features into mainstream consumer finance apps.