Kraken pursues full banking license in Lithuania as European ambitions deepen

Kraken wants to be a bank. Not a crypto exchange that sort of acts like one, but an actual, regulated, deposit-taking bank operating inside the European Union. The company is pursuing a full banking license in Lithuania, according to CoinDesk, adding another layer to what is quietly becoming one of the most aggressive regulatory buildouts in the crypto industry.

Kraken’s European entity, Payward Europe, secured an Electronic Money Institution license in Lithuania in early July 2026. An EMI license lets a company issue electronic money, hold customer funds, and process payments without being a full bank.

Before that, Kraken obtained a MiCA CASP authorization from Ireland’s Central Bank in June 2025. MiCA, the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, is the framework that standardizes how crypto firms can operate across all 27 member states. Because the Irish license is passported across the entire European Economic Area, Kraken can legally offer crypto asset services in every EEA country from a single regulatory anchor. That includes Lithuania.

So the current picture looks like this: Kraken has a crypto license covering all of Europe, a payments license in Lithuania, and is now reaching for a full banking charter in the same jurisdiction.

Back in the US, Kraken Financial has operated under a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution charter since 2020, making it the first crypto-focused company to obtain that designation. Wyoming’s SPDI framework lets companies hold digital and traditional assets under state banking supervision without FDIC insurance requirements.

Why Lithuania, specifically

Lithuania has quietly become the fintech licensing capital of Europe. The country has issued over 200 fintech licenses, a number that reflects a deliberate policy choice to attract financial services firms with faster processing times and a pragmatic regulatory culture.

A Lithuanian banking license would let Kraken hold customer deposits, offer credit products, and operate euro payment rails directly, without routing through third-party banking partners. Right now, most crypto exchanges depend on correspondent banks or payment processors to handle fiat money movement. Owning the banking rails changes the equation entirely, enabling faster euro deposits and withdrawals and the ability to offer products that a pure crypto license does not permit.

There is also a competitive dimension here. Coinbase obtained an EMI license in Ireland in 2023 and has been building its European presence under MiCA. Binance has faced significantly more regulatory friction across the continent.

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