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The scope of talks between BNY and Payward

In discussions over an infrastructure partnership, U.S. custody bank BNY and Payward, the parent company of Kraken, are reportedly weighing a broad collaboration covering digital assets and financial market services. According to two sources familiar with the matter, the talks are ongoing, but there is no certainty that a deal will be reached.

Sources said a possible partnership could include:

  • Crypto products, custody and wealth management services
  • Trading, payments and financial market infrastructure solutions

A structure similar to the Nasdaq deal is being discussed

One of the sources said some elements of the proposed framework could resemble the infrastructure component of Payward's recent deal with Nasdaq. The services are offered through Payward Services, the company's B2B platform for banks, exchanges and asset managers.

Neither BNY nor Payward commented on the talks.

Why a potential deal matters

The talks could mark another step in Payward's strategy of tying its digital asset operations more closely to traditional financial institutions. The group, which also operates the Kraken exchange, is active in spot crypto, derivatives, tokenized equities, custody, staking, payments and traditional securities.

BNY provides custody, asset servicing, clearing and wealth management for institutional clients. The bank is also developing tokenized deposit solutions to support near-real-time on-chain settlement among institutional market participants.

Nasdaq investment and acquisitions have expanded its scale

Nasdaq Ventures agreed last month to invest $100 million in Payward, valuing the company at $21 billion. Under the same deal, the two sides decided to expand their collaboration in tokenized equities.

As part of that effort, work will continue on the operational and commercial infrastructure for Nasdaq Equity Tokens. Payward will also use Nasdaq's market surveillance technology across its crypto, stock, tokenized stock, futures and options platforms, with the product expected to launch in the second quarter of 2027.

Payward has also supported its growth through acquisitions in recent months. In April, the company agreed to buy U.S. crypto derivatives firm Bitnomial for up to $550 million, followed by a deal to acquire stablecoin payments company Reap for $600 million. Those transactions came after its roughly $1.5 billion purchase of retail futures platform NinjaTrader in 2025.

According to a report by CoinDesk last month, Payward has also pushed back its long-delayed initial public offering plan to at least the second quarter of 2027. A possible deal with BNY is seen as consistent with the company's strategy of deepening ties with established financial institutions.

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