Kraken parent company Payward explores obtaining a full banking license outside the United States.

TechFlow reports on August 21 that, according to The Block, Dave Ripley, co-CEO of Payward, the parent company of Kraken, stated at the Wyoming Blockchain Summit that the company is exploring applying for a full banking license outside the United States, designating trading, banking, and asset management as its three core business areas. Ripley noted that banking fundamentally encompasses four key functions—payments, lending, yield, and custody—all of which Payward already provides.

Chief Business Officer Mark Greenberg also revealed that the company could eventually offer traditional financial services such as mortgages to its users. Currently, Payward operates Kraken Financial in Wyoming (a special-purpose depository institution) and secured a limited-purpose "limited-scope" master account from the U.S. Federal Reserve earlier this year, making it the first crypto firm connected to the Federal Reserve's payment network; however, the entity still lacks FDIC deposit insurance and fiat lending licenses.