Kraken Owner Payward to Buy Lithuania's Saldo Bank in EU Push
Summary
Kraken parent Payward is buying Lithuania-based Saldo Bank, its first European bank acquisition, to expand into lending and card issuing. Saldo holds an EU banking license and offers loans and term deposits; the purchase price was not disclosed. Payward says it aims to combine cash, crypto, tokenized stocks and credit so customers can borrow against assets without selling them. The deal requires regulatory approval and is expected to close in 2027. Payward has also applied for a U.S. national trust charter and recently acquired derivatives exchange Bitnomial and payments firm Reap Technologies.
