It is reported that Wells Fargo ( Wells Fargo ) has entered into negotiations with the parent company of Kraken, Payward, to discuss an arrangement that could provide this large American bank with liquidity for cryptocurrency trading.

On October 7th, citing two direct sources, it was reported that Payward, headquartered in Wyoming, might provide liquidity for Wells Fargo's transactions involving digital assets. Negotiations are still taking place privately, and neither party has confirmed whether an agreement will be signed.

Bank of America and Payward both refused to comment on CoinDesk. Details such as which cryptocurrencies will be affected, which customers will be able to trade, and how the service will operate have not been disclosed.

Payward may provide liquidity for encrypted transactions for Wells Fargo

Under the arrangement being discussed, Payward will act as a source of liquidity for encrypted transactions. In fact, this means that the company can provide the market access and execution infrastructure required to fulfill orders from customers or institutions, without Wells Fargo having to operate its own cryptocurrency exchange.

Payward currently sells such services to financial companies. Their institutional platform shows that banks can provide digital asset trading through their own interfaces, while Payward is responsible for execution, custody, and compliance in the backend. This service enables institutions to access the liquidity provided by the infrastructure used by Kraken.

Discussions regarding Wells Fargo have not specifically mentioned any particular Payward Services product, hence the exact architecture remains unclear. CoinDesk only reports that Payward may provide liquidity for cryptocurrency asset transactions.

If the transaction is completed, it will occur at a time when Wells Fargo is advancing its digital assets business. In its proxy statement for 2026, the bank stated that while management is pushing forward with its digital assets strategy, it is also working on related payments and liquidity services. Wells Fargo's investment business is currently also providing customers with research and educational materials covering digital assets.

Payward is also in talks with BNY regarding similar cooperation.

It's not just Wells Fargo that has been in contact with the parent company of Kraken. Previous reports have shown that Payward is also in talks with another large American bank, BNY, regarding potential infrastructure cooperation. This potential agreement could cover encrypted products, custody, wealth management, trading, payments, and other financial infrastructure.

Negotiations on the BNY aspect have not yet been completed, and neither party has announced a signing agreement or a start date.

In previous reports from crypto.news regarding negotiations between Payward and BNY, this proposed relationship was described as covering six financial service areas, with Payward Services potentially providing infrastructure to this custodian bank. The reports also indicated that the negotiations might ultimately end in nothing.

Payward launched an enterprise infrastructure department in March. The company stated that this service is aimed at banks, fintech companies, and other financial institutions that wish to increase services such as encrypted transactions, tokenized assets, stablecoin payments, staking, and financing tools, without the need to establish separate systems for each of these functions.

Its banking products currently advertise the ability to provide encrypted execution services for over 600 different assets, and are equipped with isolated custody and compliance tools. Payward indicates that most institutional partners can complete their first transaction within about 90 days after signing up, but these general service terms do not constitute a specific timeline for Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo has established contact through Nasdaq and Payward.

There has also been a recent connection between the two companies via Nasdaq. On September 10th, Nasdaq announced that Nasdaq Ventures had agreed to invest $100 million in Payward. This transaction expanded the cooperation between Nasdaq and the parent company of Kraken in the areas of tokenized stocks and market monitoring technology.

According to the official announcement of Nasdaq, Wells Fargo served as the exclusive capital market advisor for Nasdaq in that transaction. Therefore, less than a month before reports emerged regarding possible liquidity arrangements it might have made with that company, Wells Fargo had just provided advice on an important Payward transaction.

Nasdaq and Payward are collaborating on the development of a system named Nasdaq Equity Tokens ( NETs ), which is scheduled to be launched in the second quarter of 2027. Payward is expected to utilize the monitoring technology of Nasdaq in markets covering cryptocurrencies, traditional stocks, tokenized shares, futures, and options.

According to a report by crypto.news regarding Nasdaq's investment of $100 million in Payward, the two companies are developing infrastructure aimed at connecting regulated stock markets with tokenized assets. The valuation of Payward under this investment agreement is reportedly $21 billion.

Payward will continue to expand its business beyond the core Kraken exchanges in 2026. Its second-quarter performance showed that adjusted revenue amounted to 508 million US dollars, with 6.6 million funded accounts holding approximately 40 billion US dollars in assets on its platform.

Payward is building infrastructure for banks.

Payward The advancement towards banking infrastructure is no longer limited to transactions. In May, the company submitted an application to the US Federal Reserve (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency), intending to establish a Payward National Trust Company. If approved, this entity will primarily serve institutional and individual customers, providing federally regulated digital asset custody services.

The application for a national trust license by Payward indicates that the proposed company will not accept traditional deposits nor issue standard loans. The focus of this application is on the custody and trust services for digital assets.

Payward has also expanded its regulated trading infrastructure through acquisitions. After acquiring Bitnomial, it obtained a U.S. derivatives exchange, clearing house, and futures broker that is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The infrastructure currently promoted by the company's services department allows banks to retain their customer-facing platforms, while Payward is responsible for encryption, liquidity, custody, and regulatory functions. Payward indicates that a business relationship will only be established after the final agreement is signed.

As for Wells Fargo, no final agreement has been disclosed yet. The negotiations mentioned in the reports are still ongoing, and neither company has announced a timeline, the assets that will be supported, customer rollout arrangements, or the commercial terms.