BNY and Kraken Parent Explore Deal Linking Digital Assets…
By Abdelaziz Fathi
AI summary of the source article
BNY is holding preliminary discussions with Kraken parent Payward regarding a broad digital asset infrastructure partnership. The potential agreement could span custody, wealth management, trading, payments, and financial-market infrastructure, partly centering on the Payward Services business-to-business platform. If completed, the arrangement would connect BNY's regulated custody, cash rails, and tokenized deposits with Payward's digital asset and trading stack. The talks come as Payward diversifies beyond spot crypto trading following major acquisitions like NinjaTrader, Bitnomial, and Reap, alongside an expanded partnership and $100 million investment from Nasdaq Ventures ahead of a potential initial public offering targeted for 2027 at the earliest.
Why it matters
A completed agreement would connect BNY's regulated custody and institutional cash rails with Payward's trading and payments stack, supporting Payward's shift into multi-asset infrastructure ahead of an eventual IPO.
Key facts
- BNY and Payward are discussing a preliminary infrastructure partnership covering custody, trading, payments, and wealth management.
- Nasdaq Ventures previously invested $100 million in Payward at a $21 billion valuation for a separate market infrastructure partnership.
- Payward's recent acquisitions include NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, Bitnomial for up to $550 million, and Reap for $600 million.