Key facts
- Wells Fargo is in talks with Payward, Kraken's parent company, for crypto trading liquidity.
- Payward would act as an execution-layer crypto liquidity provider, handling trade routing and pricing.
- Wells Fargo disclosed holdings of over 6.5 million IBIT shares and nearly 726,000 MSTR shares.
- Wells Fargo previously served as Nasdaq's exclusive capital-markets adviser when Nasdaq invested $100 million in Payward in September 2026.
- Payward has recently integrated with Singapore Gulf Bank's settlement network and has broader talks with BNY.
- SoFi Technologies is routing customer crypto liquidity through Kraken Prime.
Wells Fargo, a U.S. banking giant with approximately $2.3 trillion in assets, is reportedly in discussions with Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, to provide liquidity for the bank's digital-asset trading operations. The talks, which are ongoing as of October 7, could see Payward, through its institutional arm Kraken Prime, handle the routing and pricing of digital-asset trades for Wells Fargo clients. This arrangement would allow Wells Fargo to offer crypto trading experiences without the capital expenditure of building its own trading infrastructure.
This potential deal signifies a deepening of Wells Fargo's involvement in the digital asset space. The bank has already disclosed substantial holdings in crypto-related exchange-traded funds, including over 6.5 million shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and nearly 726,000 shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR), according to its latest SEC filing. Wells Fargo has also invested in compliance and trading technology firms like Elliptic and Talos, and participated in a consortium for a dollar stablecoin.
The relationship between Wells Fargo and Payward is not new. In September 2026, Wells Fargo acted as Nasdaq’s exclusive capital-markets adviser when Nasdaq invested $100 million in Payward, valuing the company at $21 billion and fostering collaboration on tokenized equities and market surveillance.
Payward has been actively expanding its banking partnerships. Earlier in October, Kraken's parent integrated with Singapore Gulf Bank's real-time settlement network, enabling 24-hour digital-asset trade settlements for institutional clients. BNY Mellon is also reportedly in discussions with Payward regarding digital assets, custody, wealth management, trading, and infrastructure. SoFi Technologies recently implemented a similar arrangement, routing customer crypto liquidity through Kraken Prime and joining Payward's settlement network.
Beyond liquidity provision, Payward is developing its institutional infrastructure narrative. Its xStocks platform has tokenized over 1,100 U.S. equities on the Monad blockchain, and the company plans to offer regulated onchain perpetual futures to U.S. clients via its CFTC-registered exchange, Bitnomial. These developments, coupled with ongoing bank liquidity mandates and talks, precede Payward's anticipated public listing, now projected for Q2 2027 at the earliest. The broader institutional momentum in crypto was further highlighted by Robinhood's confirmation of a $25 million corporate Bitcoin purchase at the Token2049 event in Singapore.