Kraken Parent Seeks OCC Charter to Establish Federal Crypto Bank

Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, is building beyond trading and custody into deposits, payments, lending and asset management. Its U.S. unit, Kraken Financial, already holds a Wyoming special purpose depository institution charter and received a limited-purpose Federal Reserve master account on March 4, 2026. A full banking license abroad would broaden the group’s ability to take deposits and extend credit while putting it in more direct competition with conventional banks.

Payward is now evaluating jurisdictions outside the United States where it could seek a full banking license, though it has not selected a location or disclosed a timetable. Its longer-term ambitions could extend to mortgages alongside other lending and investment products. On August 14, Payward reported second-quarter adjusted revenue of $508 million, up 17% from a year earlier, with $40 billion of assets on platform and 6.6 million funded accounts, providing a sizable base for the proposed expansion.

Kraken Financial, the Wyoming-chartered banking arm of crypto exchange Kraken, applied for a Federal Reserve master account in October 2020. Such an account can allow an institution to settle dollars directly through Fedwire instead of relying on a correspondent bank. The approval therefore marked a breakthrough for digital-asset firms, which have historically struggled to gain direct access to the infrastructure underpinning the US banking system.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City approved Kraken Financial’s one-year, Fedwire-only account on March 4, 2026. Yet Chief Executive Brian Mathena told Wyoming lawmakers on July 15 that it remained offline more than four months later as the bank worked through technical certification and compliance controls. Kraken still lists Dart Bank as its US dollar wire provider, leaving the landmark approval without measurable commercial returns so far.

Kraken is expanding its focus beyond cryptocurrency trading into regulated banking services. Chief Executive Arjun Sethi plans to secure banking licenses in different regions over the next decade, either through acquisitions or by establishing new operations. In March 2026, Kraken Financial became the first digital-asset bank approved to access the U.S. Federal Reserve's payment system, setting a precedent for connecting crypto institutions with traditional financial rails.

Kraken has now applied for a euro-denominated banking license in Lithuania, targeting the same type of license held by Revolut as it seeks entry into Europe's deposit, payments and banking-services markets. If approved, the license would allow Kraken to broaden its financial offerings under the European Union's regulatory framework. It would also extend the company's push to transform from an exchange into a cross-regional banking institution following its March 2026 access to the Federal Reserve's payment system.

Payward-owned Kraken is a major global cryptocurrency exchange, while Franklin Templeton is a traditional asset manager. Their partnership centers on bringing fund yields, collateral and trading services onto blockchains, allowing institutional investors to use tokenized assets within a compliant framework. The deal also reflects Wall Street’s accelerating push into asset tokenization.

As of July 20, 2026, Payward and Franklin Templeton had announced plans to jointly develop tokenized yield products, blockchain-based funds and institutional crypto market services. Kraken also plans to accept the BENJI tokenized money market fund as collateral. The companies have not disclosed the value of the partnership, a specific launch date or expected yields.

A master account allows a depository institution to use Federal Reserve payment infrastructure directly and settle transactions through Fedwire without a correspondent bank. Kraken Financial obtained a Wyoming special purpose depository institution license in 2020 and has now become the first digital-asset bank to receive such approval, formally connecting a crypto company to the core U.S. clearing system.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City approved a Tier 3 restricted-purpose account for Payward Financial, or Kraken Financial, on March 4, 2026, with an initial one-year term. Conditions disclosed on May 8 limit the account to Fedwire and cap overnight balances. It cannot access intraday credit, discount-window funding or interest on balances, nor can it use FedNow or ACH. The cap amount was not disclosed.