CoinDesk
BNY is in talks with Kraken parent Payward over a partnership that could span digital assets, custody, trading, payments and wealth management, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The proposed work could involve Payward Services, which supplies infrastructure to banks, exchanges and asset managers. Talks are ongoing, with no guarantee of an agreement; both companies declined to comment.
Why it matters
The discussions bring together a major custody bank and a crypto exchange operator building a broader financial-services platform. BNY already provides custody, clearing and asset servicing to institutional clients, and it has been developing tokenized deposits to support near-real-time onchain settlement.
Payward has a precedent for working with established market operators. Nasdaq Ventures agreed to invest $100 million in the company at a $21 billion valuation as the two expand their work on tokenized equities. One person familiar with the BNY talks said a partnership could resemble the infrastructure component of that Nasdaq agreement.
Market impact
No commercial terms or timetable for a BNY agreement have been announced. The immediate significance is the potential scope: custody, trading and payments could connect Payward's digital-asset operations with services BNY already provides to institutional clients.
The Nasdaq collaboration offers a separate milestone to watch. The companies expect to launch Nasdaq Equity Tokens in the second quarter of 2027, linking Nasdaq's regulated markets with Payward's xStocks ecosystem. Whether the BNY discussions produce a deal remains the key open question.
Frequently asked questions
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Which services could a BNY-Payward partnership cover?
The discussions could cover digital assets, custody, trading, payments, crypto products, wealth management and financial-market infrastructure.
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Has BNY reached an agreement with Payward?
No agreement has been announced. Discussions are ongoing, there is no guarantee of a deal, and both companies declined to comment.
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What role could Payward Services play in the proposed partnership?
Payward Services is the company's business-to-business platform for banks, exchanges and asset managers. The proposed work could involve that platform.
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How does BNY's tokenized-deposit work relate to these talks?
BNY has been developing tokenized deposits to support near-real-time onchain settlement between institutional market participants. That work forms part of its broader digital-asset infrastructure push.
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What precedent does Payward's Nasdaq agreement provide?
One person familiar with the BNY discussions said a partnership could resemble the infrastructure component of Payward's Nasdaq agreement. Nasdaq Ventures also agreed to invest $100 million in Payward at a $21 billion valuation.
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