By Neil Roland ( March 4, 2026, 21:17 GMT | Insight) — Kraken became the first cryptocurrency firm to be granted access to the US Federal Reserve’s payments system, drawing consternation from banking groups. “As we know, the payments landscape is actively evolving,” said Jeff Schmid, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in announcing approval of the Fed’s master account. With this account, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in a news release, “we can operate not as a peripheral participant in the U.S. banking system, but as a directly connected financial institution.”Kraken has become the first cryptocurrency firm to be granted access to the US Federal Reserve’s payments system, drawing consternation…