Payward, the parent firm of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, is in negotiations with Wells Fargo, the US banking behemoth with over $2.3 trillion in assets, to supply liquidity for cryptocurrency trading.
Under the potential agreement, Payward would manage market access, pricing, and trade execution while Wells Fargo would be able to provide clients with digital asset trading. There may not be a final agreement while the negotiations are still in progress. Neither business has made any public remarks on the talks.
If the deal goes ahead, Payward would work mainly as a crypto liquidity provider. Its institutional business, Kraken Prime, could help Wells Fargo route and execute digital-asset trades. In simple words, Wells Fargo would continue to deal with its customers, while Payward would provide much of the crypto trading infrastructure behind the scenes.
JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Banking giant Wells Fargo in talks with Kraken’s parent company to provide crypto trading liquidity.
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) October 7, 2026
This type of arrangement can help a large bank enter crypto trading without having to build every part of the system itself. It is sometimes described as a “rent the rails” model.
Wells Fargo already has a growing connection with the digital-asset industry. The bank offers spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds to eligible wealth-management clients. It has also reported holdings of more than 6.5 million shares of BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF and nearly 726,000 shares of Strategy, according to its latest regulatory filing.
The bank has also invested in or supported companies working in the crypto industry. These include blockchain compliance firm Elliptic and trading technology provider Talos. Wells Fargo has further been involved in plans for blockchain-based deposits and a consortium working on a dollar-backed stablecoin.
The possible Payward deal would take Wells Fargo a step further. Instead of only giving clients access to crypto-related investment products, the bank could potentially offer more direct crypto trading services.
The two companies already have an indirect connection. Payward is also building relationships with other financial institutions. Earlier this month, its Kraken business connected with Singapore Gulf Bank’s real-time settlement network, allowing institutional customers to settle some digital-asset trades around the clock. SoFi Technologies has also started using Kraken Prime for crypto liquidity and joined Payward’s settlement network.
Meanwhile, Payward is reportedly in discussions with BNY, one of the world’s largest custody banks, about a wider partnership. That possible relationship could cover areas such as digital assets, custody, wealth management, trading and payments.
The Wells Fargo talks therefore come at a time when traditional financial companies are becoming more involved in crypto. Payward is also expanding into areas such as tokenized stocks and regulated derivatives.
Still, it is important not to get ahead of the facts. The Wells Fargo and Payward discussions are private, and the exact clients, cryptocurrencies and services that could be covered have not been disclosed. There is also no guarantee that an agreement will be signed.
For now, the talks are another sign that large banks are looking at established crypto companies as partners for entering the digital-asset market.
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