BNY (NYSE: BNY), one of the largest custody and asset-servicing banks in the world, is holding private discussions with Payward, the Wyoming-based parent of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, about a possible collaboration centered on market infrastructure, according to people familiar with the matter.
The conversations remain exploratory for now at least.
No agreement has been signed, and the parties have not confirmed that a deal will follow.
Both organizations declined to comment when asked about the talks.
People close to the discussions described a broad scope that could touch digital-asset products, safekeeping, wealth-related services, trading, payments, and other pieces of financial-market plumbing.
Much of that activity would likely run through Payward Services, the business-to-business platform Payward offers to banks, exchanges, and asset managers.
If the talks advance, parts of any arrangement could echo the infrastructure elements of a commercial relationship Payward recently expanded with Nasdaq.
In September, Nasdaq Ventures agreed to invest $100 million in Payward and to deepen existing work around tokenized equities and markets that can operate outside conventional trading hours.
One person familiar with the BNY conversations said certain operational features under discussion resemble that infrastructure component, though the bank and Payward have not disclosed terms or timelines.
For Payward, an arrangement with BNY would extend a strategy of selling the systems that support Kraken to established financial institutions rather than relying solely on retail or direct institutional accounts on the exchange itself.
Payward Services is designed so that outside firms can access trading, custody-related functions, stablecoin payments, and funding tools through a single integration while keeping their own client relationships.
That model lets Payward reach balance sheets and distribution channels that might never open an account on Kraken.
BNY already operates a digital asset custody platform for institutional clients and has been widening its work on tokenized deposits and on-chain settlement.
The bank, long known as Bank of New York Mellon, sits at the center of traditional securities processing, clearing, and asset servicing.
Adding crypto-native capabilities through an external partner could let it offer clients more ways to move between conventional holdings and digital assets without building every function in-house.
A tie-up would not replace BNY’s existing custody franchise; it would more likely sit alongside it, potentially linking safekeeping more closely with trading or payment rails.
The reported discussions fit a wider pattern in which large custody banks and market operators test limited partnerships with crypto firms instead of launching full exchanges of their own.
Similar logic has appeared in Payward’s other institutional arrangements, including work that connects derivatives infrastructure and banking or payments partners to its platforms.
None of those deals dictates the outcome with BNY.
Regulatory review, operational controls, and commercial terms would still need to be settled if the sides move beyond talks.
Until either company announces an agreement, the practical effect on Kraken users or BNY clients remains limited.
The reporting establishes only that infrastructure-focused conversations are underway and that the possible coverage includes digital assets, custody, trading, payments, and related market services. It now remains to be seen whether or not those conversations produce a formal collaboration.
