Kraken parent Payward to acquire Saldo Bank in European expansion
CIE News ·
Payward, the parent company of Kraken, is buying EU-licensed Saldo Bank to expand into lending and card issuing. The deal is expected to close in 2027.
Kraken parent company Payward is acquiring Lithuania-based Saldo Bank to broaden its services into lending and card issuing, Decrypt reported on October 14, 2026. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and the acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals before an anticipated close in 2027.
Saldo Bank secured an EU banking license in 2021 and provides term deposits alongside consumer and commercial loans. Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi stated that the company aims to integrate cash, crypto, credit, and tokenized stocks into a single system, allowing users to borrow and lend against holdings without liquidating them.
The purchase marks the first acquisition of a European bank by a digital asset company. Payward previously acquired derivatives exchange Bitnomial for $550 million in April and payments firm Reap Technologies for $600 million in May.