Kraken parent company Payward agrees to acquire ECB licensed Saldo Bank

Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, agreed on October 14 to acquire Saldo Bank, TechBullion reported. Saldo Bank is a lender licensed by the European Central Bank. The transaction reflects a broader trend of cryptocurrency companies purchasing banking institutions to support anticipated customer growth. [1]

The acquisition occurs against a backdrop of shifting cryptocurrency valuations and trading volumes. TechBullion reported that bitcoin dropped to 79,800 dollars on October 16 before rising back toward 81,000 dollars, citing data from Yahoo Finance. As FTMQ Startups reported earlier, bitcoin previously fell from over 122,600 dollars to below 105,000 dollars during a market crash on October 10, 2025. [1][4]

In other industry capital flows, TechBullion reported that presale project Pepeto has raised more than 11.2 million dollars from buyers. The project operates a live token scanner tool. [1]

The deal gives Kraken's parent company direct access to a licensed European lending institute. TechBullion noted that crypto firms acquire banks when they prepare to onboard larger volumes of institutional and retail clients. [1]