BNY Mellon Eyes Partnership with Kraken Parent Payward on Digital Asset Pact
BNY Mellon and Payward, parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, are in talks over a potential partnership that could link BNY's regulated custody and banking infrastructure with Payward's digital trading and payments stack. The proposed agreement would cover various areas including crypto products, custody, wealth management, trading, payments, and financial-market infrastructure.
The discussions remain preliminary, with no guarantee of an agreement being reached. Both BNY and Payward declined to comment on the matter. However, a potential partnership could provide a significant boost for Payward as it continues to expand beyond its spot crypto trading roots. The company has been assembling businesses across derivatives, payments, tokenization, and traditional securities.
Payward's recent acquisitions include NinjaTrader, Bitnomial, and Reap, which have expanded the group's presence in regulated derivatives and payment infrastructure. A partnership with BNY could further solidify Payward's position as a multi-asset financial infrastructure company.