For a decade the relationship between banks and crypto ran one way: crypto firms begged for accounts and banks mostly said no. This week's headlines show the traffic moving in both directions at once. A top US bank is negotiating for crypto liquidity, while crypto firms queue for bank charters and community banks sue to stop them.
đ The news
Per CoinDesk, Payward, the Wyoming-based parent of Kraken, is in talks to become a crypto liquidity provider to Wells Fargo, according to two people with direct knowledge. The talks are ongoing and may not result in a deal, and both companies declined to comment. Separately, CoinDesk reported last week that Payward is in talks with custody bank BNY on a broad infrastructure partnership covering custody, trading, wealth and payments.
đ Why Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo is not starting from zero. Per CoinDesk, it already offers spot bitcoin ETFs to eligible wealth clients, has backed compliance firm Elliptic and trading-technology provider Talos, has announced plans for blockchain-based deposits, joined a consortium developing a dollar stablecoin and hired former Citi banker Mark Gracia to build its digital assets team. It also advised Nasdaq on its $100 million investment in Payward in September. A liquidity deal would be the next logical step: banks need someone to source crypto for their clients, and exchanges already run that plumbing.
đ The charter queue
âą Rain, a stablecoin payments firm, applied for a national trust bank charter, becoming the twelfth crypto company to do so, per CoinDesk.
âą Circle, issuer of USDC, received final OCC approval in July to run a federal trust bank in New York. Ripple, the company behind $XRP, was among firms granted initial approval in December, alongside BitGo and Fidelity.
âą These charters allow custody, reserve management and stablecoin issuance, but not deposits, loans or FDIC insurance.
âą The Independent Community Bankers of America has sued the OCC, arguing it lacks the authority to grant trust charters to firms that do not offer traditional banking.
âïž Bull vs bear case
âą Bull: the GENIUS Act of July 2025 gave stablecoins a federal framework, and banks can now treat crypto firms as counterparties rather than compliance risks. Debanking stories, like Anchorage telling the Senate in 2025 that more than 40 banks refused it accounts, are becoming history.
âą Bear: nothing is signed. Wells Fargo may walk away, and a court ruling against the OCC could stall every charter in the queue.
âą The quiet winner either way is infrastructure: liquidity, custody and settlement are where the fees are, not in token prices.
đ What to watch next
âą A confirmed Wells Fargo agreement, or a denial.
âą The ICBA case and any OCC response.
âą Whether more banks follow Nasdaq's path of taking equity in exchanges rather than just buying services.
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đĄ My take: the industry spent years asking to be let into the banking system. It now looks more likely to build its own doors while banks rent the keys. That is a healthier balance of power than either side expected.
đŹ Would you rather bank with a bank that uses Kraken, or hold assets at a crypto firm with a bank charter?