Wells Fargo in Talks with Kraken Parent for Crypto Liquidity

Wells Fargo is in talks with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, over a potential deal that would see Payward provide liquidity for the bank’s crypto trading operations.

Two people with direct knowledge of the discussions said Payward could supply liquidity for digital-asset trading. The talks are still ongoing and may not result in a deal. Neither Wells Fargo nor Payward commented on the discussions.

The talks would give Wells Fargo another way to expand its crypto offering without having to build every part of the trading infrastructure itself. For Payward, the potential relationship would further its push to become a financial-market infrastructure provider for banks and other institutions.

Wells Fargo could use Payward for crypto liquidity

Crypto liquidity providers help financial institutions access markets and execute trades without having to create their own exchange infrastructure from scratch.

That model has become increasingly important as banks move deeper into digital assets. Payward already provides institutional services covering trading, custody, payments and other financial infrastructure through its Payward Services business.

The potential Wells Fargo arrangement would therefore fit into a broader strategy: banks can maintain their client relationships and financial products while relying on established crypto firms for some of the technology and market access underneath them.

For Wells Fargo, the approach could make it easier to expand crypto trading capabilities while using infrastructure that is already connected to digital-asset markets.

Payward is becoming more than Kraken

The potential Wells Fargo relationship comes as Payward expands its institutional footprint.

Earlier this month, Payward integrated Singapore Gulf Bank's SGB Net to provide selected institutional clients with 24/7 digital-asset settlement, initially supporting U.S. dollar transactions. The partnership addresses a key difference between crypto and traditional finance: crypto markets operate around the clock, while conventional banking settlement has historically followed business hours.

Related: Payward adds 24/7 settlement through SGB Net

Payward has also been building relationships across other parts of financial infrastructure. In September, Nasdaq announced a $100 million investment in Payward alongside deeper work on tokenized equities and market surveillance. Nasdaq said the partnership is aimed at supporting tokenized market infrastructure and always-on markets.

That makes the Wells Fargo discussions part of a larger shift for Payward. Kraken remains the company's core crypto exchange, but Payward is increasingly positioning itself as infrastructure that other financial institutions can plug into.

Wells Fargo is already moving into crypto

Wells Fargo is not starting from zero.

The bank already offers spot Bitcoin ETFs to eligible wealth-management clients and has backed crypto compliance company Elliptic and trading technology provider Talos. It has also announced plans involving blockchain-based deposits and joined a consortium developing a dollar stablecoin.

The bank strengthened its digital-assets team earlier this year by hiring former Citi banker Mark Gracia.

Its relationship with Payward also has another connection. Wells Fargo served as Nasdaq's exclusive capital-markets adviser on Nasdaq's agreement to invest $100 million in Payward, which also expanded cooperation around tokenized equities and market surveillance.

That broader relationship gives the potential liquidity discussions additional context. Wells Fargo is exploring several parts of digital finance at the same time, from investment products and blockchain-based deposits to trading infrastructure.

Tokenized assets are another Payward growth area

Payward's institutional expansion is also closely tied to the growth of tokenized assets.

Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi recently said crypto capital is increasingly moving into perpetuals, pre-IPO companies and tokenized equities, including assets linked to the AI sector.

Related: Kraken co-CEO says crypto's new wave is tied to AI and tokenized equities

Payward's work with Nasdaq is aimed partly at this same market. Nasdaq said its investment would deepen collaboration around its Nasdaq Equity Token framework, while also expanding market-surveillance capabilities.

The result is a broader business model for Payward. Crypto trading remains central, but the company is also building infrastructure around tokenized securities, settlement, custody and institutional market access.

Payward is also talking with BNY

Wells Fargo is not the only major financial institution exploring a relationship with Payward.

Payward is separately in discussions with BNY over a potential financial-infrastructure partnership. The talks could cover digital assets, custody, trading, payments, wealth management and other services, according to earlier reporting.

Together, the Wells Fargo and BNY discussions show how the role of crypto companies is changing inside traditional finance.

Rather than simply competing with banks for trading customers, companies such as Payward are increasingly offering the infrastructure banks can use to enter digital-asset markets themselves.

Crypto infrastructure moves closer to traditional finance

The potential Wells Fargo deal is another example of traditional financial institutions building around existing crypto infrastructure instead of treating the sector as a separate market.

For Wells Fargo, access to established crypto liquidity could support the bank's broader digital-asset strategy. For Payward, a relationship with one of the largest U.S. banks would strengthen its position as an institutional infrastructure provider.

The talks also arrive as Payward continues expanding its network across settlement, tokenized equities, trading and custody. If the Wells Fargo discussions eventually produce a deal, it would add another major bank to that growing network and further connect crypto-market infrastructure with traditional financial services.