Nikolas Sargeant
TL;DR
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Payward is discussing a potential crypto liquidity partnership with Wells Fargo, according to two people familiar with the matter.
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The Kraken parent would supply liquidity for crypto-asset trading under the proposed arrangement.
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Negotiations remain ongoing and may not produce an agreement; both companies declined to comment.
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Payward is also reportedly discussing a broader financial-infrastructure partnership with BNY.
Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, is in talks to become a crypto liquidity provider for Wells Fargo, according to two people with direct knowledge of the discussions.
Under the potential agreement, Wyoming-based Payward would supply liquidity for trading in digital assets.
The sources spoke anonymously because the negotiations are private. Talks remain ongoing and may not result in a deal. Payward and Wells Fargo both declined to comment.
Potential Deal Would Connect Wells Fargo With Crypto Trading Liquidity
Crypto exchanges and infrastructure providers help banks access digital-asset markets and execute orders without developing every component internally.
Coinbase Prime, for example, aggregates liquidity across multiple venues. Kraken offers technology that allows banks to integrate crypto trading into their own platforms.
A Wells Fargo agreement would extend Payward’s role as an infrastructure provider to traditional financial institutions. However, the report did not disclose which assets, clients, or services a potential partnership would cover.
Wells Fargo already offers spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds to eligible wealth-management clients.
The bank has also invested in crypto compliance company Elliptic and trading technology provider Talos. Its other initiatives include plans for blockchain-based deposits and participation in a consortium developing a dollar stablecoin.
Earlier this year, Wells Fargo strengthened its digital-assets team by hiring former Citi banker Mark Gracia.
It also served as Nasdaq’s exclusive capital markets adviser on the exchange operator’s September agreement to invest $100 million in Payward. That arrangement expanded Nasdaq and Payward’s collaboration on tokenized equities and market surveillance.
These activities provide a backdrop to the reported liquidity discussions, although they do not establish that a new agreement has been reached.
Regulatory Changes Support Closer Banking Relationships
The discussions reflect growing interest among major banks in using established crypto companies to support digital-asset services.
The supplied report attributes part of that shift to a more accommodating U.S. regulatory environment under President Donald Trump’s administration.
The GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, established a federal framework for payment stablecoins, providing clearer rules for an important connection between digital assets and banking.
That contrasts with the banking difficulties crypto firms previously reported. In February 2025, Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley told the Senate Banking Committee that more than 40 banks had rejected its account applications despite a subsidiary holding a federal bank charter.
Beyond Kraken, Payward provides services spanning spot crypto, derivatives, tokenized equities, custody, staking, payments, and traditional securities.
Its Payward Services division supplies infrastructure to banks, fintech companies, brokerages, and payment providers.
Payward is separately discussing a broad partnership with custody banking giant BNY. Those talks could cover crypto products, custody, wealth management, trading, and payments.
