By Chris Dickinson at Money 20/20 in Amsterdam

Here at the Money20/20 conference in Amsterdam, perhaps unsurprisingly given the breakneck pace of innovation in digital assets, all anyone seems to be talking about is crypto. Not in the usual theoretical, slightly evangelical way, but in a very practical sense. The conversations aren’t about the next meme coin or how to get rich overnight, but about something much more everyday: how to make crypto work like real money.

As a member of the press with NewsX reporting on this three-day money markets bash for financiers and founders from across the globe, one exchange above all stands out: Kraken.

Its announcement this week of a new partnership with fast-rising fintech firm Ivy has cut through the noise. Together, the two are aiming to do something deceptively simple, make bank payments into and out of crypto accounts happen instantly. If they pull it off, it could remove one of the biggest pain points in using digital currencies.

You might ask yourself: isn’t crypto already fast? Well, yes, and no. The coins themselves can move around the blockchain in minutes or even seconds. But try converting that into pounds or euros on a Friday night and you’ll find yourself stuck waiting until Monday for your bank to catch up. That’s because while crypto markets run 24/7, traditional banking systems don’t. And that gap, between the speed of digital finance and the sluggishness of old-school banking, is one of the biggest turn-offs for anyone trying to treat crypto like actual money.

Kraken’s answer is to integrate Ivy’s platform into its services for European customers. Ivy is not a name most people will know, but here at the conference their tech is being talked about with genuine respect. Based in Berlin and fully licensed under European law, Ivy has built infrastructure that plugs directly into the continent’s instant banking networks, meaning money can move in and out of your crypto account as quickly as sending a text.

So you might be thinking, why does this matter to the average person? The truth is, crypto isn’t just for tech geeks and traders anymore. Last year, more than 650 million people worldwide used some form of digital currency. That’s more than double the population of the United States. And in Europe, new rules under MiCAR, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, are bringing crypto into the regulatory mainstream. If platforms want to survive in this environment, they need to be compliant, transparent, and, critically, user-friendly.

Kraken’s decision to partner with Ivy is very much a sign of that shift. Ivy’s system doesn’t just allow for fast payments, it removes the need for cards, wallets, and other clunky intermediaries. When it’s fully up and running, users in Europe will be able to send money straight from their bank to their Kraken account and back again in seconds. That has obvious appeal for crypto investors, but it also matters for freelancers, small businesses, or anyone working across borders and currencies.

Speaking to people here at the conference, the mood is clear: crypto is growing up. It’s moving from the margins into something closer to mainstream finance. And while that might sound boring to the early adopters, it’s exactly what the sector needs if it’s going to become a real part of everyday life.

Kraken and Ivy aren’t making a big flashy play for headlines, they’re doing something more meaningful. They’re fixing a very real problem. And in a city buzzing with hype and high-concept pitches, that kind of quiet, functional innovation is exactly what’s getting attention.