Kraken's parent company Payward to acquire Lithuania's Saldo Bank for EU expansion

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, is acquiring Saldo Bank, an EU-licensed lender based in Lithuania, in an undisclosed deal expected to close in 2027. This makes Payward the first digital asset company to buy a bank in Europe. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the plan is to integrate cash, crypto, tokenized stocks, and credit into a single system, allowing customers to borrow and lend against their assets without selling them. Saldo Bank received its EU banking license in 2021 and offers consumer and business loans and term deposits.