Wells Fargo in talks with Kraken parent Payward on crypto liquidity, CoinDesk reports
In brief
- Payward, Kraken's parent, is in talks to provide crypto trading liquidity to Wells Fargo, CoinDesk reported.
- Talks are ongoing and may not result in a deal.
- Payward and Wells Fargo both declined to comment.
- Wells Fargo advised Nasdaq on its $100 million Payward investment, according to CoinDesk.
- Payward is separately in talks with BNY, CoinDesk reported earlier.
What the deal would cover
Under the potential arrangement, Payward would supply liquidity for trading in crypto assets, according to the same people.
That's the whole reported scope (for now).
Kraken already offers banks technology to integrate crypto trading into their own platforms without building the infrastructure themselves. It's a familiar model. CoinDesk pointed to Coinbase Prime, which aggregates liquidity across multiple markets, as an example of exchanges acting as liquidity gateways for institutions. Beyond running Kraken, Payward offers trading, payments and infrastructure spanning spot crypto, derivatives, tokenized equities, custody, staking and traditional securities, and its Payward Services division provides infrastructure to banks, fintechs, brokerages and payment companies.
Wells Fargo's existing crypto footprint
Wells Fargo isn't new to digital assets. The bank offers spot bitcoin ETFs to eligible wealth clients and has backed Elliptic and Talos. It has also announced plans for blockchain-based deposits and joined a consortium developing a dollar stablecoin, and earlier this year it hired former Citi banker Mark Gracia to strengthen its digital assets team.
There's a prior link between the two companies, too. According to CoinDesk, Wells Fargo served as Nasdaq's exclusive capital markets adviser on Nasdaq's September agreement to invest $100 million in Payward.
Banks and crypto firms
CoinDesk's read is that the discussions suggest major banks are increasingly turning to established crypto companies to support their digital asset ambitions, with a friendlier U.S. regulatory environment helping drive that shift. The GENIUS Act, signed by Trump in July 2025, established a federal framework for payment stablecoins.
The backdrop wasn't always like this. Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley told the Senate Banking Committee in February 2025 that more than 40 banks had rejected the firm's requests for accounts.
Payward has more than one bank conversation going. CoinDesk reported the prior week that the company is separately in talks with BNY over a broad financial-infrastructure partnership, one that could cover crypto products, custody, wealth management, trading and payments.
None of it is signed. The Wells Fargo talks are still ongoing, and they may not produce a deal.
