Kraken Parent Payward in Talks with BNY for Crypto Infrastructure

The proposed arrangement would likely leverage Payward Services, the company’s B2B platform designed to grant financial institutions access to crypto-native infrastructure. While the talks remain private and carry no guarantee of a finalized agreement, the scope suggests a broad collaboration rather than a single product launch. If successful, the partnership would mirror the strategic infrastructure work Payward recently initiated with Nasdaq, which included a $100 million investment and a long-term plan to develop tokenized equity markets by 2027.

For BNY, the discussions represent a shift toward integrating digital asset capabilities with its existing institutional custody and clearing operations. The bank has already begun exploring blockchain-based deposit tokens for collateral and margin workflows, signaling an intent to modernize its financial rails. These negotiations follow a period of aggressive expansion for Payward, which recently integrated regulated U.S. derivatives and stablecoin payment services through the acquisitions of Bitnomial and Reap, alongside a strategic purchase of the Magic Labs wallet business.