# Kraken owner Payward agrees to buy Lithuania's Saldo Bank

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/stories/kraken-owner-payward-agrees-to-buy-lithuania-s-saldo-bank-3608de45
Date: 14 Oct 2026
About: [Kraken](https://technooptimist.io/companies/kraken.md)
Original source: https://decrypt.co/380912/kraken-owner-payward-to-buy-lithuanias-saldo-bank-in-eu-push

Payward, parent company of the crypto exchange Kraken, is buying Saldo Bank, a Lithuanian bank with an EU banking licence. The price was not disclosed. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said customers want bank-like products that combine cash, crypto, tokenized stocks and credit in one place.

## Key facts

- Saldo offers consumer and business loans and term deposits, and has held its EU banking licence since 2021.
- The plan lets customers borrow and lend against their assets without selling them.
- The deal expands Kraken into lending and card issuing.
- The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in 2027.
- Payward would be the first digital-asset company to buy a bank in Europe, according to the Financial Times.

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