BNY and Kraken Parent in Digital Assets Partnership Talks
Custody banking giant BNY is in advanced discussions with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, for a broad financial infrastructure partnership.
BNY is in active discussions with Payward, the Wyoming-based parent company of the Kraken crypto exchange, over a broad partnership spanning digital assets and financial-market infrastructure. The potential agreement could cover crypto products, custody, wealth management, trading, payments, and infrastructure offerings. Discussions are ongoing, and there is no guarantee a deal will be reached.
A partnership would further Payward’s push to connect its digital-asset operations with established financial institutions. The arrangement could resemble the infrastructure component of Payward’s recent commercial agreement with Nasdaq. BNY, formerly known as Bank of New York Mellon, provides custody, asset servicing, clearing, and wealth-management services to institutional clients.
Payward's Strategic Expansion
Payward is making a multibillion-dollar bet on becoming a unified financial platform. The company operates the Kraken crypto exchange alongside a growing collection of trading, payments, and infrastructure businesses. Its products now span spot crypto, derivatives, tokenized equities, custody, staking, payments, and traditional securities.
Heavy acquisitions fuel this expansion. Payward agreed in April to acquire U.S. Crypto derivatives firm Bitnomial for as much as $550 million. It followed that with a $600 million deal for stablecoin-payments company Reap. Those transactions came after its approximately $1.5 billion acquisition of retail futures platform NinjaTrader in 2025. Through its Payward Services division, it also offers infrastructure to banks, fintechs, brokerages, and payment companies.
Nasdaq's Strategic Investment
Nasdaq Ventures agreed last month to invest $100 million in Payward at a $21 billion valuation while expanding the companies’ collaboration on tokenized equities. The investment supports the continued evolution of tokenized market infrastructure.
Under that agreement, Nasdaq and Payward will continue developing the operational and commercial infrastructure for Nasdaq Equity Tokens. Payward will also adopt Nasdaq’s market-surveillance technology across its crypto, equities, tokenized-equities, futures, and options venues. The companies expect to launch Nasdaq Equity Tokens in the second quarter of 2027. The initiative is intended to connect Nasdaq’s regulated markets with Payward’s ecosystem while preserving shareholder rights and regulatory protections.
BNY's Positioning
BNY sees blockchain's future inside the banking system. The institution is extending its position in global capital markets into infrastructure connecting conventional money, tokenized assets, and blockchain networks. BNY CEO Robin Vince stated that payments, liquidity, collateral, digital assets, and securities markets are becoming more interconnected, creating demand for faster and more resilient infrastructure. He believes BNY is well positioned to lead in this space over the next decade.
BNY has also been developing tokenized deposits designed to support near-real-time onchain settlement between institutional market participants. This development aligns with the broader industry shift toward integrating digital asset infrastructure with traditional finance. Payward had pushed its planned initial public offering to the second quarter of 2027 at the earliest, after previously shelving the listing due to difficult market conditions. The potential partnership with BNY could resemble the infrastructure component of Payward’s recent commercial agreement with Nasdaq.
