Wells Fargo is in talks with Payward, the company that operates the Kraken exchange, on a possible deal that would have Payward supply liquidity for crypto trading at the bank, CoinDesk reported on Oct. 7, citing two people familiar with the matter.
The discussions are still underway and may not lead to an agreement, the report said.
What role Payward could play
A liquidity provider can help a bank offer crypto trading without building its own market infrastructure. Payward already sells that kind of technology to banks through its Payward Services unit, which also works with fintech companies, brokerages and payments firms.
Wells Fargo’s recent crypto moves
According to the report, Wells Fargo has been adding crypto exposure. The bank offers spot bitcoin ETFs to eligible wealth clients, has backed compliance firm Elliptic and trading technology provider Talos, and has joined a consortium developing a dollar stablecoin.
Earlier this year, Wells Fargo also hired former Citi banker Mark Gracia for its digital assets team.
Payward’s expanding bank relationships
Payward has also been building deeper ties with traditional financial institutions. In September, Nasdaq agreed to invest $100 million in Payward in a deal that valued the company at $21 billion, and Wells Fargo served as Nasdaq’s exclusive capital markets adviser on that transaction.
CoinDesk separately reported on Oct. 2 that Payward was also in talks with BNY over a broader partnership covering crypto products, custody, wealth management, trading, payments and infrastructure. One person cited in that report said parts of the arrangement could resemble the infrastructure component of Payward’s recent agreement with Nasdaq.
IPO plans
These developments come as Payward is looking to go public next year.