Why Does Payward Want To Become A Bank?
Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, is exploring conventional banking licenses outside the United States as it expands beyond crypto trading into payments, lending, custody and asset management.
Payward and Kraken co-CEO Dave Ripley said the company is considering becoming a full bank in some international markets, although he did not identify the jurisdictions or licenses currently under review.
“We are looking into actually becoming a full bank in some of our other geographies, likely not the U.S. immediately,” Ripley said at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2026.
The plan is part of a wider effort to build Payward around three main businesses: trading, banking and asset management. Rather than limiting Kraken to cryptocurrency exchange services, the company appears to be pursuing a model in which customers can trade assets, move and store money, earn yield and eventually borrow through the same financial group.
“What is banking? It’s payments and money movement. It’s lending. It’s yield. It’s custody,” Ripley said. “We do all four of those things.”
Obtaining conventional banking status could allow Payward to offer those services more directly and to a wider group of customers, particularly in jurisdictions where crypto companies currently depend on third-party banks for core financial infrastructure.
What Can Kraken Financial Already Do?
Payward already has a foothold in regulated banking through Kraken Financial, a Wyoming-chartered Special Purpose Depository Institution that launched in March 2024. The entity is authorized to provide digital asset custody and deposit accounts for institutional clients.
Its powers remain narrower than those of a conventional commercial bank. Kraken Financial cannot lend customer fiat deposits and does not have Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage, limiting the range of traditional banking products it can provide.
The business gained greater access to U.S. financial infrastructure earlier this year when it received a limited-purpose Federal Reserve master account. The arrangement allows Kraken Financial to connect directly to parts of the central bank’s payment system and was the first such limited account granted to a crypto company.
Direct access can reduce reliance on intermediary banks for certain payment functions, but it does not turn Kraken Financial into a full-service lender. That difference helps explain why Payward is examining conventional banking licenses elsewhere.
“It’ll just allow us to offer more of those to more users,” Ripley said.
Investor Takeaway
Payward is trying to reduce the boundary between a crypto exchange and a traditional financial institution. A full banking license could give Kraken greater control over payments, deposits and lending while reducing its dependence on external banking partners.
Could Kraken Eventually Offer Mortgages?
Payward’s ambitions may eventually extend into consumer lending products that have little direct connection to cryptocurrency trading.
Chief Commercial Officer Mark Greenberg said mortgages are one example of the services the company could potentially provide as its financial offering expands.
“If they want to come to us and get a mortgage at some point, hopefully we can offer those kinds of services,” Greenberg said.
A move into mortgages would represent a major expansion from Kraken’s original exchange business. It would require Payward to manage credit risk, underwriting, capital requirements and consumer protection obligations that differ considerably from those involved in running a digital asset trading platform.
That expansion could also deepen customer relationships. Crypto exchanges traditionally generate much of their revenue from trading activity, which can fluctuate sharply with market conditions. Banking and asset management can create recurring revenue through payments, custody, lending and investment products even when crypto trading volumes are weaker.
Can Crypto Exchanges Become Full Financial Platforms?
Payward’s strategy reflects growing competition between cryptocurrency companies and conventional financial institutions. Large crypto platforms increasingly offer payments, custody, stablecoins, tokenized assets and investment products, while banks and asset managers are adding digital asset services of their own.
For Kraken, obtaining banking licenses could make it easier to combine these services under one regulated structure. It may also help the company serve customers who want access to both digital assets and conventional financial products without moving money between separate providers.
The approach carries higher regulatory and capital costs. Full banking operations require tighter supervision than most exchange businesses and can expose companies to credit losses and liquidity requirements that are unfamiliar to crypto-focused firms.
Payward has not disclosed where it might apply for a banking license or when such applications could begin. The choice of jurisdiction will matter because licensing standards, deposit protections and lending rules vary considerably between markets.
The direction, however, is clear. Kraken is no longer treating crypto trading as the endpoint of its business. Payward is building toward a financial platform spanning trading, banking and asset management, with products such as mortgages potentially following if it secures the regulatory permissions needed to offer them.
