Wells Fargo Eyes Crypto Trading Deal With Kraken Parent Payward

TLDR

• Wells Fargo is reportedly in talks with Payward, the parent company of Kraken, to supply liquidity for crypto trading.
• Talks are ongoing, both companies declined to comment, and no deal has been confirmed.
• Payward is also in separate talks with BNY about a wider financial infrastructure partnership.
• Wells Fargo advised Nasdaq on its $100 million investment in Payward in September.
• Payward reported $508 million in adjusted revenue in the second quarter of 2026.

Wells Fargo is in talks with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, about a possible crypto trading deal. Under the plan, Payward would supply liquidity for trading in digital assets.

CoinDesk reported the talks on Oct. 7, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private.

The talks are ongoing and may not lead to a deal. Both Wells Fargo and Payward declined to comment.

What the Payward Deal Could Look Like

As a liquidity provider, Payward could give Wells Fargo market access and the tools to complete crypto orders. This would let the bank offer crypto trading without running its own exchange.

Few details have been shared. It is not known which cryptocurrencies would be covered, who could trade them, or how the service would work.

Payward already sells this type of service through its Payward Services unit, which launched in March. Banks can offer crypto trading on their own platforms while Payward handles execution, custody, compliance and settlement.

The banking product advertises trading in more than 600 crypto assets. Payward says most partners make their first trades within about 90 days of signing, though no timeline has been given for Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo’s Growing Crypto Work

Wells Fargo already offers spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds to eligible wealth clients. It has also backed crypto compliance firm Elliptic and trading technology provider Talos.

The bank has announced plans for blockchain-based deposits and joined a group building a dollar stablecoin. Earlier this year, it hired former Citi banker Mark Gracia to its digital assets team.

The two companies also have a recent link through Nasdaq. Wells Fargo was Nasdaq’s exclusive capital markets adviser on its $100 million investment in Payward, announced on Sept. 10.

That deal valued Payward at a reported $21 billion. Nasdaq and Payward are also working on Nasdaq Equity Tokens, a tokenized stock system planned for launch in the second quarter of 2027.

Payward is also in separate talks with custody bank BNY. CoinDesk reported last week that those talks could cover crypto products, custody, wealth management, trading and payments. No agreement has been announced.

The talks come under a friendlier U.S. regulatory climate for crypto. The GENIUS Act, signed by President Donald Trump in July 2025, set federal rules for payment stablecoins.

Payward has grown beyond its Kraken exchange this year. In May, it applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form Payward National Trust Company, which would focus on digital asset custody.

The company also bought Bitnomial. The deal added a U.S. derivatives exchange and clearing business regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

In the second quarter, Payward reported $508 million in adjusted revenue. Its 6.6 million funded accounts held about $40 billion in assets.

As of now, Wells Fargo and Payward have not announced a signed deal, timeline, supported assets or commercial terms.

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