Klarna CEO Says Firm ‘Will Embrace Crypto’

Klarna is set to “embrace crypto” and is asking crypto fans to share ideas of how it can do so.

“Ok. I give up. Klarna and me will embrace crypto,” Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said in a Saturday post on X. “More to come.”

Ok. I give up. Klarna and me will embrace crypto! More to come

Yes I know! This post will get a huge sigh and 2 views ?

But it still feels historic. Last large fintech in the world to embrace it. Someone had to be last. And that’s a milestone as well of some sort… ?

— Sebastian Siemiatkowski (@klarnaseb) February 8, 2025

Siemiatkowski joked in the post that Klarna — a global payments network and shopping assistant — is the “last large fintech in the world to embrace it.”

In a reply posted the same day, Siemiatkowski said he is serious about the idea, there are some use cases Klarna is set to pursue and replies to his thread on X may give the company more ideas. In another reply, he said he will follow up on all suggestions.

Siemiatkowski asked in another reply on X: “BTW all crypto fans. Tell me what we should do with it?” He added that Klarna has 85 million users worldwide, $100 billion of volume, over 500,000 merchants, over 1 million cards, and about 30% of its volume is debit rather than credit.

“I have some ideas but keen to hear more,” Siemiatkowski said in the reply.

This discussion came at a time when Klarna is reportedly readying for its initial public offering (IPO) on the U.S. markets. The Financial Times reported Friday (Feb. 7) that the company has its eye on an April listing and a valuation that could hit $15 billion.

A $15 billion valuation would mark an increase from the $14.6 billion valuation seen as recently as the end of last year, implied by the latest funding round, and well above the $6.7 billion seen in 2022.

Klarna has also added several partnerships in recent months.

In January, the company announced a strengthened global partnership with Stripe that allows businesses in 25 countries that use Stripe’s financial infrastructure platform to instantly offer Klarna’s payment options to their customers.

Klarna allows customers to pay with their choice of immediate payments; short-term, interest-free buy now, pay later (BNPL); or longer-term financing.

In December, Klarna announced that it will be offered as a default payment method to merchants using the WooPayments solution offered by eCommerce platform WooCommerce; that eBay is making Klarna’s BNPL payment options available to its shoppers in six more European countries; and that Klarna’s pay later options are now available to Apple Pay users in Canada.