Payward, the parent company of the Kraken crypto exchange, has signed a definitive agreement to buy Saldo Bank, a licensed bank based in Lithuania. The deal, announced on October 14, would give a major crypto exchange a full European Union banking licence for the first time.
Saldo Bank is a small but fully licensed digital bank. It is licensed by the European Central Bank and supervised in Lithuania, and it already works in Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany, with permission to serve customers in the Netherlands too. The bank held about $180 million in total assets at the end of 2025 and offers term deposits, consumer and business loans, and payment cards.
Payward says the bank would let it offer normal banking services next to crypto trading. Plans include deposits that pay interest, loans, card services and euro payments in one place. One key idea is letting customers borrow cash against their crypto or tokenized stock holdings, so they can get money without selling their coins.
Reports say this would make Payward the first crypto company ever to buy a bank in Europe. The price was not shared, and the deal still needs regulatory approval, with closing expected in 2027. Payward is not starting from zero in banking: it says its banking arm has already made more than $2 billion in loans, and it holds licences and accounts in the United States and Ireland.
For traders, this is another sign that big exchanges want to become full financial platforms, not just places to buy and sell coins. If regulators approve the deal, Kraken users in Europe could one day keep cash, crypto, tokenized stocks and credit in a single account. The next thing to watch is the approval process in Europe, and whether other exchanges follow with bank deals of their own.
This post is news only, not financial advice. Always do your own research before buying or selling crypto.
Sources: CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, CoinCentral