
Kraken's Payward wins in-principle approval for Kazakhstan license
Payward received conditional approval from Kazakhstan's AFSA to run a digital-asset trading and custody business inside the AIFC zone.
Founded 2011 by Jesse Powell. One of the oldest exchanges, US-based, strong on security and fiat access.

Payward received conditional approval from Kazakhstan's AFSA to run a digital-asset trading and custody business inside the AIFC zone.

A new report shows converting $10,000 of USDC to euros on Kraken costs $100 on the instant button but $20 through the order book — an 80-basis-point gap few users notice.

In an Oct. 18 interview, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi described a future where trading, banking and asset management share one account — and said the pending Saldo acquisition unlocks interest and lending in Europe.

Firelight's onchain protection activated October 15 for Kraken's Protected Strategies USDC pool: $30.5 million registered, capped at $100,000 per wallet.

Payward has agreed to buy Lithuania's Saldo Bank, making it the first digital-asset company to own a European bank — a direct bid for regulated deposits, loans and card services across the EU.

Payward, Kraken's parent company, won the final stage of Dubai's licensing regime on October 12, clearing it to launch dirham-quoted crypto trading, staking and tokenized equities in the UAE.