Wells Fargo talks with Kraken parent company on cryptocurrency transactions

It is reported that Wells Fargo has entered into negotiations with Kraken's parent company Payward on the supply of cryptocurrency liquidity

Core points:

• Wells Fargo is negotiating an agreement for Payward to provide liquidity support for cryptocurrency transactions.
• Negotiations are still ongoing and both parties may ultimately decide not to reach an agreement.
• Meanwhile, Payward is in separate discussions with another U.S. banking giant, BNY, on custody, trading, payment and wealth management services.
• Nasdaq agreed in September this year to invest US$100 million in Payward and deepen tokenized equity cooperation.

According to CoinDesk, citing two people familiar with the matter, Wyoming-based Payward may reach an arrangement with Wells Fargo to provide liquidity for its digital asset transactions. These discussions remain confidential and neither company has confirmed that any agreement will be signed. Wells Fargo and Payward both declined to comment.

As of now, the specific types of cryptocurrencies involved, the scope of transaction rights and the details of service operation have not been disclosed.

Wells Fargo may use Payward to solve crypto liquidity problem

In the proposed arrangement, Payward will serve as a liquidity provider for cryptocurrency transactions. From a practical perspective, the company can provide the market access and execution infrastructure needed to complete customer or institutional orders without Wells Fargo operating its own cryptocurrency exchange.

Payward has sold such services to financial institutions. Its institutional platform states that banks can provide digital asset trading services through their own interfaces, while Payward handles execution, custody and compliance matters in the background. The service enables organizations to access mobility in the infrastructure used by Kraken.

Payward is exploring a similar partnership with BNY

Wells Fargo is not the only major U.S. bank in talks with Kraken's parent company. According to earlier reports, Payward is discussing potential infrastructure partnerships with BNY. Potential BNY agreements could cover areas such as cryptocurrency products, custody, wealth management, transactions, payments and other financial infrastructure.

Negotiations with BNY have not yet ended. Neither party announced that it had signed the agreement or announced a launch date. The proposed partnership covers six areas of financial services, and Payward Services is expected to provide infrastructure support for the custodian bank. The report also stressed that discussions could still end without a deal.

Payward already has ties to Wells Fargo through NASDAQ

The two companies have recently established another level of ties through NASDAQ. Nasdaq announced on Sept. 10 that its venture capital fund Nasdaq Ventures has agreed to invest $100 million in Payward. The transaction expands Nasdaq's collaboration with Kraken's parent company on tokenized equity and market monitoring technology.

According to an official announcement from NASDAQ, Wells Fargo served as NASDAQ's exclusive capital markets consultant for the transaction. As a result, less than a month before news of the bank's possible liquidity arrangements with Payward emerged, it had been involved in a major Payward transaction advisory exercise.

Nasdaq and Payward are developing a system called "Nasdaq Equity Tokens"(NETs), which is scheduled to be launched in the second quarter of 2027. Payward is expected to use Nasdaq's surveillance technology in multiple markets covering cryptocurrencies, traditional stocks, tokenized shares, futures and options.

It is reported that the two sides are developing infrastructure aimed at connecting regulated stock markets with tokenized assets. The investment agreement values Payward to approximately $21 billion.

Payward is committed to building bank-level infrastructure

Payward will continue to expand its business in 2026 beyond its core Kraken Exchange business. Its second-quarter earnings report showed adjusted revenue of $508 million, and 6.6 million funded accounts on the platform held approximately $40 billion in assets.

Payward has now entered the banking infrastructure sector, with a scope that goes beyond mere transaction services. In May this year, Payward submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a "Payward National Trust Company". If approved, the entity will focus primarily on providing federally regulated digital asset custody services to institutional and individual customers. According to the application documents, the new company will not accept regular deposits or issue standard loans, but will focus on custody and trust services for digital assets.

此外，Payward还通过收购扩大受监管的交易基础设施。其对Bitnomial的收购增加了一家由商品期货交易委员会（CFTC）监管的美国衍生品交易所、清算机构和期货佣金商人。

目前，Payward的服务部门推广一种基础设施方案，允许银行保留面向客户的平台，而由Payward管理加密货币执行、流动性、托管及监管职能。Payward声明，除非签署最终协议，否则不存在商业关系。

对于富国银行而言，截至目前尚未披露任何最终协议。据报道，双方的讨论仍在进行中，两家公司也未公布时间表、支持的资产、客户 rollout 计划或商业条款。