Payward signs agreement to acquire Lithuania's Saldo Bank

Payward, parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has signed an agreement to fully acquire Saldo Bank, a specialized bank headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, operating across five European markets. Kraken's own account amplified the news with CEO David Ripley noting the deal answers the idea that "the banks will just buy all of the crypto companies" — here, the crypto company buys the bank. The deal, reported by the Financial Times on October 14, 2026, is expected to close in 2027, with financial terms undisclosed.

• Saldo Bank holds an EU banking license granted in 2021, allowing it to take deposits and lend across the European Economic Area, with about €162.9 million in assets
• The purchase follows Payward's pattern of buying licensed financial businesses (Bitnomial, NinjaTrader, Reap) rather than applying for licenses from scratch
• Co-CEO Arjun Sethi had said in late September that Payward was "about to buy a bank in Europe"