Wells Fargo eyes Kraken parent Payward for crypto liquidity

The potential partnership would see Payward handle the heavy lifting of execution, custody, and compliance, mirroring an enterprise service model the firm recently launched for financial institutions. While the exact scope of the integration remains undisclosed, Payward’s infrastructure currently supports execution across more than 600 digital assets. Both companies have declined to comment on the talks, and no definitive agreement has been reached.

This move aligns with Wells Fargo’s evolving digital asset strategy, which has seen the bank expand its research offerings and internal development of tokenized deposits. The two firms share a recent history; Wells Fargo acted as the exclusive capital markets adviser for Nasdaq’s $100 million investment in Payward this past September. Meanwhile, Payward is simultaneously pursuing similar infrastructure partnerships with BNY, signaling an aggressive push to embed its crypto-trading capabilities directly into the plumbing of traditional Wall Street banking.