Invest Independently confirmed 2 publishers 2 min read Published Oct 7, 2026, 12:20 PM PDT

Wells Fargo seeks crypto trading liquidity from Kraken parent Payward

Wells Fargo is in talks to source crypto trading liquidity from Payward, the $21 billion Kraken parent, two people told CoinDesk. A signed contract would let the bank offer crypto execution without building trading infrastructure and would put bank revenue behind Payward's price.

The Investor · Invest desk

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What happened

The talks are ongoing and may not produce a deal, CoinDesk reported, and both Payward and Wells Fargo declined to comment.
BNY is separately in talks with Payward over a partnership that could cover crypto products, custody, wealth management, trading and payments.
On September 3, SoFi agreed to give its users Kraken Prime liquidity, with 24/7 dollar settlement inside SoFi's network and SoFiUSD listed on Kraken.
Payward has bought Bitnomial and NinjaTrader to add regulated derivatives and futures as it turns itself from an exchange into a broader financial services provider.

Why it matters

Who has to decide decision Wells Fargo would skip funding its own crypto trading infrastructure and instead take on Payward as an outside counterparty for client orders.
Who's exposed exposure Payward's execution would sit inside Wells Fargo's crypto offering, so problems at the exchange operator would reach the bank's clients.
What it limits constraint At about 10 times annualized second-quarter revenue, Payward's price depends on talks like this one turning into signed contracts that appear in reported revenue.

Next story · Invest · 4d ago

Wells Fargo is in talks to source crypto liquidity from Kraken parent Payward

Confirmed2 publishers

Nasdaq's September investment bought about 0.48% of Payward at the $21 billion valuation Crypto Briefing reported ^[6]^[17]. Wells Fargo was Nasdaq's exclusive capital markets adviser on that deal ^[3]. The adviser is now the prospective customer ^[1]. Payward's second-quarter adjusted revenue was $508 million, up 17% from a year earlier ^[8]. Against that, the price is about 10.3 times a $2.03 billion annual run rate ^[18].

In CoinDesk's account, most of Wells Fargo's crypto activity runs through other firms. The bank offers spot bitcoin ETFs to eligible wealth clients and has backed trading technology provider Talos and compliance firm Elliptic ^[9]. It also joined a consortium developing a dollar stablecoin ^[10]. Liquidity from Payward would add execution to that list. Kraken already sells banks technology that puts crypto trading inside their own platforms, so they can serve clients without building the infrastructure themselves ^[4]. The talks CoinDesk reported are about supplying liquidity, and neither outlet reports terms, volumes or an equity stake ^[1].

If the talks survive, a signed deal could still leave Payward as one supplier among several. Exchanges often act as liquidity gateways for banks, and Coinbase Prime aggregates liquidity across multiple markets ^[14]. It is also possible that Wells signs and the flow turns out small next to Payward's quarterly revenue ^[8].

I think Wells is buying its crypto infrastructure from outside firms, at least for execution, much as it did when it backed Talos and Elliptic ^[9]. The case against that view comes from inside the bank. Earlier this year Wells hired former Citi banker Mark Gracia to strengthen its digital assets team ^[11]. A bigger team could bring trading in-house once the bank knows how much its clients want. If that team ends up running its own crypto trading book, with Payward as one quote among several, the view is wrong.

Payward Services already sells infrastructure to banks, fintechs, brokerages and payment companies ^[7]. In February 2025, Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley told the Senate Banking Committee that more than 40 banks had rejected its requests for accounts, even though one of its subsidiaries held a federal bank charter ^[16]. Twenty months later ^[19], Wells Fargo is negotiating to buy crypto liquidity from an exchange operator ^[1].

What to watch

Whether Wells Fargo or Payward confirms a contract, and whether the terms include volumes, exclusivity or an equity stake.
Payward's next quarterly report, for revenue from banks and other business clients set against the $508 million second quarter.
Whether Wells Fargo's expanded digital assets team adds a second liquidity provider or starts a crypto trading book of its own.

Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.

Clarity's read

What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.

Reality

Evidence45
Adoption25
Hype gap+20
Incentives55
Confidence50

Perspective Coverage

3 publishers

Builder: Builder 20%
Operator: Operator 38%
Investor: Investor 42%

Why these scores

Claim ledger

Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.

[1]
Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, is in talks to become a crypto liquidity provider to Wells Fargo, supplying liquidity for trading crypto assets, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, as reported by CoinDesk in October 2026.
Reported Supported Source: CoinDesk, citing two people with direct knowledgeView cited source
[2]
Talks are ongoing and may not result in a deal; Payward and Wells Fargo both declined to comment.
Reported Supported Source: CoinDeskView cited source
[3]
Wells Fargo served as Nasdaq's exclusive capital markets adviser on the exchange operator's September agreement to invest $100 million in Payward and deepen collaboration on tokenized equities and market surveillance.
Reported Supported Source: CoinDeskView cited source
[4]
Kraken offers banks technology to integrate crypto trading into their own platforms, allowing them to serve clients without building the infrastructure themselves.
Reported Supported Source: CoinDeskView cited source
[5]
Payward is separately in talks with BNY over a broad financial-infrastructure partnership that could cover crypto products, custody, wealth management, trading and payments.
Reported Supported Source: CoinDeskView cited source
[6]
Nasdaq's $100 million investment in Payward in September 2026 valued the crypto company at $21 billion.
Reported Supported Source: Crypto BriefingView cited source
[7]
Payward's Payward Services division provides infrastructure to banks, fintechs, brokerages and payment companies.
Reported Supported Source: CoinDeskView cited source
[8]
Payward reported $508 million in adjusted revenue for Q2 2026, a 17% year-over-year increase, alongside 6.6 million funded accounts.
Reported Supported Source: Crypto BriefingView cited source
[9]
Wells Fargo offers spot bitcoin ETFs to eligible wealth clients and has backed crypto compliance firm Elliptic and trading technology provider Talos.
Reported Supported Source: CoinDeskView cited source
[10]
Wells Fargo has announced plans for blockchain-based deposits and joined a consortium developing a dollar stablecoin.
Reported Supported Source: CoinDeskView cited source
[11]
Wells Fargo strengthened its digital assets team earlier this year by hiring former Citi banker Mark Gracia.
Reported Supported Source: CoinDeskView cited source
[12]
Outsourcing liquidity would be a lower-risk way for Wells Fargo to test client crypto demand; the bank would avoid building trading infrastructure internally, though it would take on dependence on an outside counterparty.
Reported Supported Source: Crypto Briefing analysisView cited source
[13]
Payward is reshaping itself from a crypto exchange into a broader financial services provider, and its acquisitions of Bitnomial and NinjaTrader strengthen its regulated derivatives and futures offerings.
Reported Supported Source: Crypto BriefingView cited source
[14]
Crypto exchanges often serve as gateways to digital asset liquidity for banks and institutional investors, providing access to trading venues and helping execute orders; Coinbase Prime aggregates liquidity across multiple markets.
Reported Supported Source: CoinDeskView cited source
[15]
On September 3, 2026, Payward and SoFi announced an agreement giving SoFi users access to Kraken Prime liquidity, with 24/7 dollar settlement within SoFi's network, and SoFiUSD was listed on Kraken.
Reported Supported Source: Crypto BriefingView cited source
[16]
Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley told the Senate Banking Committee in February 2025 that more than 40 banks rejected its requests for accounts despite its subsidiary holding a federal bank charter.
Reported Supported Source: CoinDeskView cited source
[17]
Nasdaq's $100 million investment equals about 0.48% of Payward at a $21 billion valuation.
Derived Supported
[18]
Payward's $21 billion valuation is about 10.3 times its annualized Q2 2026 adjusted revenue of $2.03 billion.
Derived Supported
[19]
About 20 months separate McCauley's February 2025 Senate testimony from the October 2026 report of the Wells Fargo talks.
Derived Supported

Sources

2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.

coindesk.com
1 article · October 7, 2026
Wells Fargo in talks with Kraken parent Payward for crypto trading liquidity
crypto.news
1 article · October 7, 2026
Wells Fargo talks with Kraken parent about crypto trading
cryptobriefing.com
1 article · October 7, 2026
Wells Fargo reportedly in talks with Kraken parent Payward over crypto trading liquidity

Clarity analysis

How the coverage leans and what the record actually supports. Read the methodology

Perspective Coverage

How much of the coverage speaks to builders, operators and investors. It measures emphasis, not whether the story is right.

Builder20%

crypto.news is the only outlet that describes the product a bank would plug into. It lists execution across more than 600 assets, segregated custody, compliance tools, and Payward's stated path of roughly 90 days from contract to first trade. It also points out that the Wells Fargo talks have not been tied to any specific Payward Services product. CoinDesk covers Kraken's bank integration technology in one sentence.

Operator38%

For a bank, the question is whether to build or buy. Crypto Briefing argues that buying liquidity from Payward lets Wells Fargo test client demand cheaply, at the price of depending on an outside counterparty. The only live comparison in our coverage is SoFi, which since September 3 has given its users Kraken Prime liquidity with round-the-clock dollar settlement. crypto.news notes that the assets, eligible clients and service design for Wells Fargo have not been disclosed.

Investor42%

The $21 billion price comes from a $100 million Nasdaq check, which is about 0.48% of the company. That price is roughly 10.3 times Payward's annualized Q2 adjusted revenue of $508 million. Crypto Briefing says the valuation 'effectively prices in' bank partnerships that have not yet been signed. Wells Fargo was Nasdaq's exclusive capital markets adviser on that deal less than a month before these talks were reported.

Reality

Evidence, adoption, hype gap, incentives and confidence, each read independently from the current record on the scale shown beneath it. How these are measured.

Evidence45: 0100
One anonymous-sourced report
Everything about the talks goes back to two unnamed people who spoke to CoinDesk. Crypto Briefing and crypto.news cite CoinDesk and add no sources of their own, and both companies declined to comment. The context is better supported: crypto.news ties Wells Fargo's adviser role to Nasdaq's own announcement.
Adoption25: 0100
Talks only; SoFi is the live precedent
There is no Wells Fargo deployment to measure. The closest evidence that Payward sells liquidity to regulated firms is the SoFi agreement announced September 3, and only Crypto Briefing reports it here. Payward's own scale is better documented, with 6.6 million funded accounts.
Hype gap+20: −100 understated0 aligned+100 overstated
Analysis runs ahead of a deal that may not happen
CoinDesk sticks to what its sources said and notes the talks may fail. Crypto Briefing calls a possible agreement a 'credibility multiplier' and says the $21 billion valuation 'effectively prices in that ambition'. That valuation rests on a $100 million check equal to about half a percent of the company.
Incentives55: 0100
The adviser is now a prospective customer
Wells Fargo advised Nasdaq on the deal that set Payward's $21 billion price, and less than a month later it is a prospective customer. Payward already has SoFi and is in talks with BNY, so news of a third bank helps its effort to sell infrastructure to banks. The employers of the two sources were not disclosed.
Confidence50: 0100
Plausible, unconfirmed
I think the talks are plausible. Payward already has the Nasdaq connection, a signed SoFi deal and BNY discussions under way. Still, the only basis for the Wells Fargo talks is one report with no comment from either side, and no outlet reports terms or a timeline.

Topics and entities

Topics

Crypto infrastructure as a service
Bank crypto trading liquidity
Crypto company valuations