Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has agreed to acquire Lithuania-based Saldo Bank, becoming the first cryptocurrency firm to buy a European bank, according to a Financial Times report.

The deal gives Payward a European Union banking license. It also hands the company a launchpad into regulated deposits, lending, cards and euro payments — the plumbing of everyday finance that crypto exchanges have long watched from the outside.

Saldo Bank held 163.9 million euros ($180 million) in total assets at the end of 2025, up 22.7% year over year, according to The Banks. Payward did not disclose the purchase price and did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for details.

Why does a crypto exchange want a bank license?

The answer comes down to product scope. Without a banking license, an exchange can trade crypto. With one, it can hold customer deposits, originate loans, issue cards and settle in euros — all under a single regulated roof.

"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," said Arjun Sethi, Payward's co-CEO.

Saldo Bank is licensed in Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany. It also holds a passport to operate in the Netherlands. It offers deposits, consumer and business loans and payment services.

What does this change for European customers? In practice, it means Payward could eventually offer interest-bearing bank deposits, loans, card services and euro payments alongside crypto trading, collapsing several financial relationships into one institution.

A deliberate regulatory ladder

The acquisition did not appear out of nowhere. Kraken had been seeking a banking license in Lithuania, CoinDesk reported in July. The Saldo purchase accelerates that effort by buying an existing licensed operator rather than building one from scratch.

In the United States, Payward has applied for a national trust bank charter. Its banking arm has already secured limited access to the Federal Reserve's payment system through a limited-purpose master account, and it holds an electronic money institution license in Ireland.

Payward said its banking business has already originated more than $2 billion in loans.

Convergence, not collision

The move reflects a broader shift. Crypto firms are no longer just competing with traditional lenders on trading — they are buying the licenses to become them. That inverts the older narrative in which banks built crypto desks; now exchanges are buying banks.

For incumbents, the competitive threat is structural. A single institution that combines crypto trading, Fed payment access, EU banking rights and a multi-billion loan book can bundle services traditional banks cannot easily match.

What happens next?

The acquisition remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in 2027. Until then, Payward operates without the EU license, and Lithuanian and EU supervisors will scrutinize whether a crypto group can run a deposit-taking bank to standard.

If approval comes, 2027 will mark the first time a major crypto exchange operates a full European bank — a market-structure change that could push other exchanges to hunt for banking licenses of their own.