BNY In Talks With Kraken Parent Payward Over Infrastructure Partnership

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BNY and Payward, the parent company of Kraken, are discussing a broad financial-infrastructure partnership, according to two people familiar with the talks. The discussions could cover digital assets, custody, trading, payments and wealth management, but no agreement has been reached and the companies declined to comment.

BNY is in talks with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, about a broad financial-infrastructure partnership that could span digital assets, custody, trading, payments and wealth management, according to two people familiar with the discussions. No agreement has been reached, and the talks may not result in a deal.

The potential arrangement could involve products and services delivered through Payward Services, Payward’s business-to-business platform for banks, exchanges and asset managers, the people told CoinDesk. One source said aspects of the proposal could resemble the infrastructure component of Payward’s recent commercial agreement with Nasdaq. The person spoke anonymously because the discussions are private.

The scope under discussion is broad, but the available information does not establish which services would be included in a final agreement, how they would operate or when a partnership might begin. Payward and BNY declined to comment on the talks. The report is based on people familiar with the matter, rather than a public announcement by either company.

BNY, formerly known as Bank of New York Mellon, provides custody, asset servicing, clearing and wealth-management services to institutional clients. It has also been developing tokenized deposits intended to support near-real-time onchain settlement between institutional market participants. The potential tie-up would bring a major custody bank and a crypto-focused financial-services group into discussions about shared infrastructure, though its eventual form remains unknown.

A Possible Bridge to Institutional Finance

A partnership could link Payward’s digital-asset and trading businesses with BNY’s institutional custody and financial-services capabilities. If the talks lead to an agreement, that combination could support services for institutions seeking to connect conventional financial operations with digital-asset markets. The current report does not confirm that either company has committed to build or launch any particular service.

The potential relationship also matters because the discussion appears to extend beyond a single crypto product. The reported areas include custody, payments, trading and wealth management, as well as broader infrastructure. For banks and asset managers, partnerships of this kind can provide a route to digital-asset services without requiring them to build every capability themselves. Whether BNY and Payward would offer such a route, and to which customers, has not been disclosed.

For Payward, a deal with BNY would fit its effort to expand from operating Kraken into a broader set of financial and technology services. For BNY, it would add to its work on digital-asset infrastructure, including tokenized deposits. Those are reasonable implications of the companies’ stated business activities, not confirmed terms or outcomes of the talks.

How the Nasdaq Agreement Fits

The reported talks follow Payward’s recent commercial agreement with Nasdaq. Nasdaq Ventures agreed last month to invest $100 million in Payward at a $21 billion valuation, while the companies expanded their collaboration on tokenized equities. Under that arrangement, they plan to develop operational and commercial infrastructure for Nasdaq Equity Tokens, and Payward will adopt Nasdaq market-surveillance technology across several of its venues.

The companies expect Nasdaq Equity Tokens to launch in the second quarter of 2027. The initiative is intended to connect Nasdaq’s regulated markets with Payward’s xStocks ecosystem while preserving shareholder rights, regulatory protections and issuer control. CoinDesk’s source said the infrastructure portion of that Nasdaq relationship could provide a point of comparison for the BNY discussions; that does not mean the proposed BNY partnership would have the same design or terms.

Payward also operates businesses across spot crypto, derivatives, tokenized equities, custody, staking, payments and traditional securities. It has pursued acquisitions to expand those operations, including agreements to acquire U.S. crypto derivatives firm Bitnomial for as much as $550 million and stablecoin-payments company Reap for $600 million. The company acquired retail futures platform NinjaTrader for approximately $1.5 billion in 2025. This context helps explain its infrastructure ambitions, but the acquisitions do not confirm the outcome of the BNY discussions.

“The potential agreement could cover areas including crypto products, custody, wealth management, trading, payments and infrastructure.”

— Two people familiar with the discussions, as reported by CoinDesk

Terms and Timing Remain Unknown

The talks are ongoing, and the sources told CoinDesk there is no guarantee an agreement will be reached. The companies have not publicly confirmed the discussions, and because both declined to comment, there is no official account of their objectives or negotiating positions.

It is not clear which services, products or customer groups could be covered, whether the arrangement would involve joint development or use of existing services, or how custody and other responsibilities would be divided. No financial terms, regulatory structure, launch schedule or implementation milestones have been reported. The Nasdaq comparison comes from one source and should not be read as confirmation that BNY and Payward plan to replicate that agreement.

Watch for a Public Agreement

The next concrete development would be a statement from BNY or Payward confirming whether they have reached an agreement and setting out its scope. Until then, the reported discussions remain private and no launch date or deal terms are confirmed.

If the parties proceed, further details would be needed to establish which infrastructure services are involved, who can use them and how they fit within applicable regulatory and operational requirements. The Nasdaq Equity Tokens project, which the companies expect to launch in the second quarter of 2027, is a separate announced initiative; its timeline does not establish a schedule for any potential BNY partnership.

Key Questions

What are BNY and Payward discussing?

They are in talks about a potential broad infrastructure partnership, according to two people familiar with the matter. Possible areas include digital assets, custody, trading, payments and wealth management.

Has BNY agreed to a partnership with Payward?

No agreement has been announced. The discussions are ongoing, and sources told CoinDesk that there is no guarantee a deal will be reached. Both companies declined to comment.

What is Payward Services?

Payward Services is Payward’s business-to-business platform, offering infrastructure to banks, exchanges and asset managers, according to the report.

Is the potential BNY deal the same as Payward’s Nasdaq agreement?

No. One source said parts of the proposed arrangement could resemble the infrastructure component of Payward’s recent Nasdaq agreement. No matching terms or structure have been confirmed for the BNY discussions.

When could a BNY-Payward partnership begin?

No start date or implementation schedule has been reported. The companies have not announced a deal, and the timing remains unknown.

Source: rss