Wells Fargo, one of the largest U.S. banks, is in talks with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, to supply liquidity for its crypto trading operations, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The discussions, first reported by CoinDesk on October 7, would see the Wyoming-based firm provide liquidity for trading digital assets. Both companies declined to comment, and the talks remain ongoing and may not result in a deal.
The potential arrangement marks a notable step: a top-four U.S. bank is evaluating a crypto-native firm as the infrastructure behind its digital-asset trading ambitions rather than building that capability in-house. Wells Fargo already offers spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds to eligible wealth clients, has backed crypto compliance firm Elliptic and trading-technology provider Talos, and has announced plans for blockchain-based deposits while joining a consortium developing a dollar stablecoin. The bank lifted its Ethereum ETF holdings by 63.5% in the first quarter and hired former Citi banker Mark Gracia to help lead its digital-assets push.
Wells Fargo also served as Nasdaq's exclusive capital-markets adviser on the exchange operator's September agreement to invest $100 million in Payward, giving the bank early insight into Kraken's parent before the liquidity discussions began.
The talks reflect a broader shift in which major financial institutions rent crypto-native infrastructure rather than build it themselves. Coinbase Prime already aggregates liquidity across venues for banks, while Kraken sells technology that lets lenders integrate crypto trading into their own platforms. The trend is supported by a more accommodating U.S. regulatory climate, including the GENIUS Act signed in July 2025, which set a federal framework for payment stablecoins and clarified links between crypto markets and the banking system.
Several questions remain open, including the size of any arrangement, which assets it would cover, and whether it will be finalized. Payward is separately in talks with custody-banking giant BNY over a broad financial-infrastructure partnership, so an agreement with Wells Fargo would widen the Kraken parent's push into traditional finance.
