Swedish fintech giant enters Crypto to challenge PayPal's dominance?

‍ Swedish fintech giant Klarna is about to integrate Crypto assets into its services, indicating a strategic transformation of the global buy now, pay later (BNPL) leader.

It is reported that the company plans to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States later this year.

On February 8, CEO Sebastian Siematkowski confirmed the company's plans to enter the Crypto asset market.

According to him, the company may be one of the last major fintech companies to take this step, but it is a milestone in itself.

He said, "Klarna and I will embrace Crypto assets, and there will be more initiatives to come. All Crypto fans, tell me what we should do with it? We have 85 million users worldwide, 100 billion transaction volume, and more than 500,000 merchants. About 30% of transaction volume is debit cards rather than credit cards, totaling more than 1 million cards."

While the company is willing to explore various Crypto asset integration strategies, Siematkowski also welcomes industry feedback to improve Klarna's approach. However, he denied the possibility of providing BNPL services for Crypto asset purchases.

In response, community members suggested that the company could use stablecoins to provide users with more flexibility in digital transaction settlement.

Industry stakeholders compared the company to PayPal, which launched its own stablecoin, and suggested that Klarna could take a similar approach. Others suggested integrating existing stablecoins to improve transaction efficiency.

Nikhil Chandhok, chief product and technology officer at stablecoin issuer Circle, said, "You can settle with merchants with stablecoins, probably faster than you can now."

In addition, community members also suggested blockchain networks and DeFi protocols, including Aave, Solana and XRPL, as potential infrastructure partners.

Siematkowski acknowledged the rationale for these suggestions, noting that regulatory compliance remains a top priority.

He also highlighted the changing perception of Crypto assets in the fintech industry, acknowledging that compliance with regulations is now seen as a competitive advantage. This perception is in stark contrast to previous years when skepticism dominated.

Siematkowski said, "Anyway, it's interesting that many people emphasize the suggestion of full compliance as a key advantage. This is a big change compared to a few years ago."

Meanwhile, Klarna is reportedly preparing for an IPO in the United States with a target valuation of up to $15 billion. If successful, it will be one of the largest listings this year.

Since its founding in 2005, Klarna has expanded rapidly, serving more than 85 million users and 500,000 merchants. According to statistics, it is currently the world's largest BNPL service provider.