BNY weighs digital asset infrastructure deal with Kraken parent Payward: CoinDesk

BNY is in talks with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, over a broad partnership spanning digital assets and traditional financial-market infrastructure, according to a CoinDesk report citing people familiar with the discussions.

The potential agreement could cover crypto products, custody, wealth management, trading, payments and infrastructure offered through Payward Services, the company’s business-to-business platform for banks, exchanges and asset managers. Discussions remain ongoing and may not result in a deal.

Parts of the partnership could resemble Payward’s infrastructure agreement with Nasdaq, according to one person familiar with the talks.

Nasdaq Ventures agreed in September to invest $100 million in Payward while expanding an existing collaboration around tokenized equities and always-on market infrastructure.

The companies are developing the operational and commercial infrastructure for Nasdaq Equity Tokens, with a launch targeted for the second quarter of 2027.

Under that agreement, Payward will connect Nasdaq’s tokenized equities framework with its xStocks infrastructure and adopt Nasdaq’s market-surveillance technology across its trading venues.

A BNY agreement would extend Payward’s push to connect its crypto-native infrastructure with major traditional financial institutions.

BNY, one of the world’s largest custody banks, has been expanding its own digital asset operations, including work around tokenized deposits and onchain settlement for institutional clients.

Payward has meanwhile broadened well beyond Kraken’s original spot crypto business. Its businesses now span derivatives, tokenized equities, custody, staking, payments and traditional securities, while Payward Services provides infrastructure to financial institutions and fintech companies.

The company has also struck a series of partnerships aimed at connecting those products with established financial networks. Earlier in September, Payward announced an agreement with SoFi covering banking, payments, liquidity and digital assets, including access to Kraken Prime and SoFi’s real-time settlement network.

Payward’s xStocks infrastructure has become another central part of that strategy. The company said in March that xStocks had surpassed $25 billion in transaction volume, including more than $4 billion settled onchain, as it began working with Nasdaq on infrastructure linking regulated and permissionless tokenized equity markets.