Kraken's parent buys a Lithuanian bank

Payward, the parent company of the crypto exchange Kraken, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, a Finnish holding company whose subsidiary, Saldo Bank UAB, is a digital bank licensed in Lithuania, the company said on Wednesday. The transaction is expected to close in 2027, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Neither the release nor Fortune's report gave a price; Kraken said it does not disclose financial terms for its deals, Fortune reported.

Payward describes Saldo Bank as "a digital-first specialized bank licensed in Lithuania" with four operating markets, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany, and a passport into the Netherlands. Under EU rules, a bank licensed in one member state can extend its services to others through passporting rather than seek a separate licence in each. Fortune reported that, once completed, the deal would make Payward the first crypto-native firm to own a European bank; that is Fortune's characterisation.

The release lists what Payward expects to offer once the deal closes, subject to regulatory approvals: interest on deposits, secured and unsecured loans to small and medium-sized businesses, consumer lending, credit cards, and a banking-as-a-service line with card issuance and full access to SEPA euro payments for partners building on Payward. Saldo already offers retail term deposits in all four markets, consumer lending in Lithuania, Finland and Sweden, and business lending in Lithuania and Finland, according to the release. Its credit card launched in Finland and is expected in Sweden in 2027.

Arjun Sethi, Payward's co-chief executive, said in the release: "A regulated EU bank is the piece that lets us serve European clients the way a primary financial institution should: one place to hold assets, move them freely, and put them to work." Jarkko Mäensivu, president of Saldo Bank, said: "A banking license is only as valuable as what you build on top of it." A Kraken spokesperson told Fortune: "Once the deal closes in 2027, we hope to expand shortly thereafter."

The point of a bank, in both accounts, is deposits. Fortune contrasted the deal with the US national trust charters held by Coinbase and Ripple, which it said allow them to safeguard funds and move money without touching customer deposits. Payward said its US arm already holds a Federal Reserve limited-purpose master account, and that it holds an e-money licence from the Central Bank of Ireland and has originated more than $2bn in loans. Those are the company's figures.

Several things are not yet public. Neither source names the authority that will review the change of ownership, and neither gives Saldo's assets, deposits or customer numbers, so the size of what Payward is buying cannot be judged from the material published so far. The release says the integration work and the regulatory approval process are both under way.

The deal follows other Payward moves this year. Fortune reported that Kraken Financial obtained its Federal Reserve account seven months ago, giving it direct dollar payments over Fedwire, and that Nasdaq agreed last month to invest $100m in Payward at a reported $21bn valuation, with the two developing blockchain-based versions of stocks expected in the second quarter of 2027. The valuation is a reported figure, not one Komposite has confirmed.

The acquisition fits a pattern Komposite has been tracking, of companies that rented banking services buying the licence instead. Chime agreed to buy Stride Bank for $590m in September, and in the US crypto-linked firms such as Rain are applying for trust charters, a route community banks are contesting in court. Payward is taking the European version of the step, by acquisition rather than application.