The licenses Coinbase and Ripple have obtained in the U.S. only allow them to hold assets and move money on behalf of clients; they can’t take deposits. Kraken has gone a step further and bought a European bank that can accept deposits and make loans.
On October 14, Kraken’s parent company, Payward, announced its acquisition of Saldo Bank, a Lithuanian online bank with an EU license. Once the deal closes, Payward will become the first crypto-native company to own a European bank. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed; Kraken says it never reveals the terms of its deals.
It’s worth spelling out what this license allows. Under the EU’s passporting system, a bank can operate in other member states without applying for a new license in each country. So this acquisition opens up four markets at once—Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and Germany—along with an operating license in the Netherlands. The services covered include interest-bearing deposits, loans to consumers and small businesses, credit cards, and euro transfers through SEPA.
My take is that the significance of this deal lies in its direction, not its dollar value.
For more than a decade, the relationship between crypto companies and banks has been one-way. Whether a bank would let an exchange open an account determined whether the exchange could survive. Now the tables have turned: exchanges are buying banks and using their licenses to take deposits. Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi put it plainly: a regulated EU banking license is the missing piece that will let the company serve European customers like a major financial institution.
The contrast makes this even clearer. Coinbase and Ripple have both obtained national trust charters in the U.S. These licenses allow them to hold and transfer funds, but not to accept deposits. The difference comes down to whether they can keep customer money on their own balance sheets.
This isn’t happening in isolation, either. A few months ago, Payward’s U.S. banking division, Kraken Financial, obtained a limited-purpose account at the Federal Reserve, allowing it to send and receive dollars directly through Fedwire without relying on intermediary banks. Last month, Nasdaq agreed to invest $100 million in Payward at a $21 billion valuation. The two companies are developing a blockchain-based version of stocks.
Further back, Deutsche Börse bought a 1.5% stake in Payward in April for $200 million. That implied a valuation of $13.3 billion at the time; it has since risen to around $20 billion.
Kraken’s acquisitions over the years have totaled more than $3 billion.
What I’m unsure about is whether the deal will ultimately clear regulators. It’s expected to close in 2027, leaving more than a year for approvals—and Europe has been tightening its stance on crypto companies owning banking licenses over the past two years.
One thing is clear: the industry’s most financially savvy players are spending their money on licenses, not marketing.
$BTC $ETH $USDT #Kraken #加密监管 #银行 #HotTopicAnalysis
On October 14, Kraken’s parent company, Payward, announced its acquisition of Saldo Bank, a Lithuanian online bank with an EU license. Once the deal closes, Payward will become the first crypto-native company to own a European bank. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed; Kraken says it never reveals the terms of its deals.
It’s worth spelling out what this license allows. Under the EU’s passporting system, a bank can operate in other member states without applying for a new license in each country. So this acquisition opens up four markets at once—Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and Germany—along with an operating license in the Netherlands. The services covered include interest-bearing deposits, loans to consumers and small businesses, credit cards, and euro transfers through SEPA.
My take is that the significance of this deal lies in its direction, not its dollar value.
For more than a decade, the relationship between crypto companies and banks has been one-way. Whether a bank would let an exchange open an account determined whether the exchange could survive. Now the tables have turned: exchanges are buying banks and using their licenses to take deposits. Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi put it plainly: a regulated EU banking license is the missing piece that will let the company serve European customers like a major financial institution.
The contrast makes this even clearer. Coinbase and Ripple have both obtained national trust charters in the U.S. These licenses allow them to hold and transfer funds, but not to accept deposits. The difference comes down to whether they can keep customer money on their own balance sheets.
This isn’t happening in isolation, either. A few months ago, Payward’s U.S. banking division, Kraken Financial, obtained a limited-purpose account at the Federal Reserve, allowing it to send and receive dollars directly through Fedwire without relying on intermediary banks. Last month, Nasdaq agreed to invest $100 million in Payward at a $21 billion valuation. The two companies are developing a blockchain-based version of stocks.
Further back, Deutsche Börse bought a 1.5% stake in Payward in April for $200 million. That implied a valuation of $13.3 billion at the time; it has since risen to around $20 billion.
Kraken’s acquisitions over the years have totaled more than $3 billion.
What I’m unsure about is whether the deal will ultimately clear regulators. It’s expected to close in 2027, leaving more than a year for approvals—and Europe has been tightening its stance on crypto companies owning banking licenses over the past two years.
One thing is clear: the industry’s most financially savvy players are spending their money on licenses, not marketing.
$BTC $ETH $USDT #Kraken #加密监管 #银行 #HotTopicAnalysis