Wells Fargo is in discussions with Payward, the parent company of Kraken, over a potential partnership that would help it expand its cryptocurrency trading operations.

U.S. bank Wells Fargo is in discussions with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, for a potential collaboration under which Payward would provide liquidity support for the bank’s digital asset trading business. The partnership would see Payward offer market depth and trade execution support, helping Wells Fargo expand crypto asset trading access for its clients without building out a full trading infrastructure from scratch. The two sides are still in negotiations, no final agreement has been reached, and both parties declined to comment. Wells Fargo has previously offered Bitcoin spot ETFs to eligible wealth management clients, invested in compliance tech firm Elliptic and trading platform provider Talos, advanced a blockchain-based deposit initiative, and joined a U.S. dollar stablecoin-related consortium. In September 2026, Nasdaq announced a $100 million investment in Payward, valuing the firm at roughly $21 billion, with Wells Fargo serving as the exclusive capital markets advisor for the deal. Separately, Payward is reportedly in talks with asset custody and services giant BNY for a broader infrastructure partnership, covering areas including digital asset products, custody, wealth management, trading, and payments. Those discussions have also not yet resulted in a final agreement. Payward is steadily expanding its footprint in traditional finance. The firm is also reportedly pursuing a European banking license, with Lithuania as its target jurisdiction. In March 2026, Kraken Financial became the first digital asset bank to secure access to Federal Reserve payment infrastructure; Payward has also obtained authorization from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.