The parent company of the American cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is acquiring a Lithuanian bank, reports the Financial Times (FT) website. The firm aims to provide customers with more financial services.
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Crypto Exchange Buys European Bank: Payward Acquires Saldo Bank
Payward, the company operating the exchange that also operates in Europe, will acquire Saldo Bank, which is subject to European regulation. This will make it the first firm dealing with digital assets to acquire a bank in Europe, the newspaper reports. Payward is based in Wyoming and was founded in 2011. It is one of several cryptocurrency groups that have applied for a banking license in the United States. Saldo Bank obtained its EU banking license in 2021. It provides loans to consumers and businesses, as well as fixed-term deposits. The transaction requires approval from supervisory authorities, is expected to close by the end of 2027, and its price has not been disclosed.
“One of the most frequent requests we receive from customers is, ‘I would like to get products, services, and offerings similar to what I get from another bank’,” Arjun Sethi, who is involved in Payward’s management, told the newspaper. “The improvement is that these assets will be unified into one system… Cash, cryptocurrencies, tokenized stocks, credit – all within one system,” he added, noting that thanks to the acquisition of Saldo Bank, customers will be able to take out and provide loans against their assets without having to sell them.
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Crypto Versus Banking Lobby: Who Will Dominate Financial Services?
Cryptocurrency firms face intense lobbying from the banking sector as they attempt to expand their operations. American banks claim that they would introduce risks into the financial system and are subject to lighter regulation than traditional financial institutions.
The Coinbase exchange and payment group Ripple have already received conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). This authorizes these cryptocurrency companies to manage customer assets and provide transactional services, but they are not permitted to accept deposits.
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Source: ČTK
Photo source: Canva.com
