Bank of Lithuania central office in Vilnius for a ProCoinNews article about Kraken's European banking-license push.

Kraken Wants a European Bank Charter, and It Picked Lithuania

By Isaac • July 8, 2026 2:46 pm • Comments

Kraken is trying to become a bank in Europe.

The exchange is pursuing a full banking license, with Lithuania as the reported focus jurisdiction. If it lands the charter, Kraken would be the only crypto exchange holding that designation.

No license has been granted. The Bank of Lithuania process is confidential, and Kraken declined to comment.

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This is the pursuit stage, and that distinction matters.

Still, the direction is clear. Kraken has spent the last two years stacking regulated permissions across Europe and the United States, and a European bank charter would be the biggest piece yet.

CoinDesk reported on July 7 that Kraken is pursuing a full banking license in Europe, with Lithuania as the focus jurisdiction.

The report said Kraken would follow a path similar to Revolut, which holds a specialized European banking license regulated by the Bank of Lithuania. It cited a person familiar with Kraken’s plans.

CoinDesk also reported that a Bank of Lithuania spokesperson said licensing processes are confidential and would not confirm any application. Kraken declined to comment, keeping the current status at reported pursuit rather than formal approval.

The larger frame is Payward, Kraken’s parent company, seeking more licenses globally. CoinDesk tied the move to CEO Arjun Sethi’s Money 2020 Europe comments that the next decade is about securing licenses region by region, through acquisitions or new applications.

That is why Lithuania matters. A banking license would move Kraken deeper into regulated financial infrastructure, while the confidential process keeps timing and outcome uncertain.

CryptoBriefing reported the same European banking push and filled in Kraken’s existing regulatory base.

The report said Kraken already holds MiCA authorization through the Central Bank of Ireland and a MiFID license through Cyprus for derivatives. It also described the banking-license effort as a move toward credit institution status, deposit-taking, and expanded payments.

That distinction is important because MiCA authorization is not the same as being a bank. MiCA covers crypto-asset service activity, while a banking license would sit closer to deposits, payments, and credit-institution oversight.

CryptoBriefing also linked the European effort with Kraken Financial’s U.S. banking-rail progress. That makes the story part of a broader payments-and-banking buildout rather than a single-country regulatory filing.

Kraken said MiCA became fully enforced across the EEA on July 1, 2026, and that exchanges operating without authorization now face restrictions on serving EU customers.

In that official MiCA enforcement post, Kraken described itself as MiCA authorized through the Central Bank of Ireland, MiFID licensed for derivatives, and E-money licensed in Europe. That is the base the reported bank-charter effort would build on.

The enforcement date matters because Europe has moved from transition talk to active licensing pressure. Exchanges that want to serve EU customers need authorization, which makes license depth a competitive issue.

For Kraken, the point is cumulative. The company is not starting from scratch in Europe; it is trying to add banking status to an existing crypto, derivatives, and payments permission stack.

Kraken’s MiCA license post and MiFID license post show how those pieces fit together.

The MiCA post said the Central Bank of Ireland authorization sits alongside MiFID and EMI licenses and supports regulated offerings across spot trading, derivatives, and payments. It framed the license stack around retail, professional, and institutional clients.

The MiFID post said Kraken secured the derivatives permission by acquiring a Cypriot investment firm. It said the license would support regulated derivatives products in selected EU markets once conditions are satisfied.

That acquisition path lines up with Sethi’s broader licensing comments. Kraken can buy regulated entities where that makes sense, apply directly where needed, and then connect the pieces into a larger exchange, payments, and derivatives business.

The U.S. side of this is moving in parallel, and it helps explain why a European bank charter would fit the strategy.

In March 2026, Kraken said Kraken Financial received a Federal Reserve master account. Its post on the account said it lets Kraken Financial connect directly to core U.S. payment rails, including Fedwire, without relying on intermediary banks.

Kraken described Kraken Financial as a Wyoming-chartered SPDI operating on a full-reserve basis. The company said the master account reduces intermediary-bank dependency for institutional fiat movement.

Put together, the pattern is clear: a U.S. direct payment-rail connection, EU MiCA authorization, EU MiFID derivatives permissions, European e-money licensing, and now a reported European bank-license push.

Kraken started as a crypto exchange. It is now building the licenses to run banking, payments, and derivatives as regulated business lines across major jurisdictions.

The Lithuania charter is the live test of whether that ambition holds up in front of a European regulator. No approval has been announced, and the process stays quiet by design.

But the intent is no longer subtle. Kraken wants to move deeper into the banking system, with crypto exchange infrastructure as the starting point.

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