Kraken Parent Payward Acquires Lithuanian Saldo Bank as Ledger and Trezor React to Supply Chain Security Threats

The cryptocurrency landscape experienced a day of stark contrasts on Wednesday, featuring major strategic maneuvers in traditional finance alongside urgent security crackdowns within the hardware wallet sector. On one front, Payward, the parent company of major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, announced a definitive agreement to acquire Saldo Bank, marking a significant milestone in its ongoing integration with traditional financial infrastructure. Meanwhile, the hardware wallet industry found itself reeling from a widening security crisis. Ledger, a prominent manufacturer of crypto security devices, called for an immediate halt to hardware wallet sales across several key Asian markets following discoveries of sophisticated device tampering. In response to these unsettling developments, rival hardware wallet maker Trezor announced preemptive cuts to its own authorized reseller network to safeguard its supply chain.

Kraken Parent to Buy Lithuanian Saldo Bank Amid TradFi Expansion

Payward’s acquisition of Saldo Bank represents a calculated and deliberate escalation in the company’s multi-year infrastructure strategy. By bringing Finland-based holding company Saldo Finance Oy and its licensed digital bank subsidiary, Saldo Bank UAB, under its corporate umbrella, Payward aims to bridge the gap between digital assets and traditional financial services.

According to the official announcements released by Payward, the acquisition will grant the company a valuable European Union banking license and an established operational footprint. Saldo Bank currently operates in four distinct European markets, including Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and Germany, where it provides retail term deposits. Furthermore, the bank’s regulatory authorization includes passporting rights into the Netherlands, giving Payward an immediate regulatory foothold across multiple key European jurisdictions.

The transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions, is widely anticipated to conclude by 2027. Once finalized, the integration will allow Payward Banking to diversify its service offerings significantly. The company plans to introduce traditional banking features directly to its ecosystem, including competitive interest rates on deposits, robust lending products, and comprehensive banking-as-a-service capabilities. These newly acquired capabilities will enable Payward to deliver essential corporate services such as card issuance, regulatory passporting, and specialized lending facilities tailored to small and medium-sized enterprises. Industry observers view the move as a clear indication that major crypto enterprises are aggressively seeking regulatory compliance and direct integration with legacy financial frameworks to secure long-term growth and institutional trust.

Ledger Asks Resellers to Halt Sales in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong

While Payward looks toward traditional banking integration, the hardware wallet sector is confronting a severe operational and reputational crisis centered on physical supply chain integrity. Ledger, one of the industry’s most recognized hardware wallet brands, has officially requested that authorized sellers and third-party distributors across six Southeast Asian countries and Hong Kong immediately suspend sales and pull its devices from store shelves.

The sweeping precautionary measure, announced via social media platform X on Tuesday, targets retail networks in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. This directive significantly expands upon Ledger’s earlier localized containment efforts, which initially instructed a single regional partner, CryptoBilis, to halt all sales and shipments of its devices.

The unfolding crisis became public knowledge on October 9, following a wave of unsettling reports detailing stolen cryptocurrency funds directly linked to hardware wallets purchased through the CryptoBilis reseller network. Subsequent investigations by security researchers and the company itself uncovered alarming evidence that certain devices had been physically intercepted and compromised before reaching end users.

Addressing the public concerns, Ledger emphasized the localized nature of the confirmed security breaches. Company representatives stressed that as the investigation continues to unfold, all verified incidents remain strictly contained within Southeast Asia. The firm explicitly noted that it has not yet verified a single instance of asset drainage linked to a device purchased outside of the targeted geographic region.

The primary objective of the ongoing investigation is to pinpoint vulnerabilities within the distribution chain, specifically identifying how malicious actors managed to access and tamper with the hardware before retail deployment. Blockchain security analysts and investigators have put forward preliminary estimates suggesting that potential user losses resulting from the compromised devices could range anywhere between $72 million and $86 million. However, Ledger has maintained that it has not yet independently confirmed the total aggregate financial loss stemming from the incident.

Trezor Cuts Resolver Network After Ledger Wallet Tampering Reports

The repercussions of the Southeast Asian supply chain breach have quickly rippled across the broader cryptocurrency security ecosystem. Trezor, a chief rival to Ledger in the hardware wallet market, announced on Tuesday that it is proactively reducing its own authorized reseller network as a direct precaution against similar vulnerabilities.

Trezor’s chief commercial officer, Danny Sanders, confirmed that the company has no evidence indicating that its own devices have been compromised or that similar physical tampering has occurred within its supply chain. Nevertheless, the manufacturer elected to take swift, defensive action. Under the new policy, affected third-party resellers will officially lose their authorized status, and all product shipments to those specific businesses will cease immediately.

The decision was prompted by the alarming revelations surrounding Ledger devices sold by CryptoBilis. Investigations revealed that at least one of those devices contained an unauthorized, highly sophisticated hardware implant. Unlike traditional counterfeit attempts or basic firmware alterations that security software can typically detect, this physical modification involved cellular hardware capable of intercepting sensitive data, specifically reading recovery phrases directly from the device’s screen and transmitting them via cellular networks.

Trezor noted that while its existing internal diagnostic checks and security protocols are fully equipped to detect standard counterfeit hardware and modified firmware, the emergence of physical screen-reading implants presents a unique and insidious challenge to the industry. The incident has cast a harsh spotlight on the inherent vulnerabilities of relying on third-party physical distribution networks for security-critical devices.

In response to the growing unease among digital asset holders, Trezor has issued clear guidance to the public. The company strongly advises customers to bypass third-party vendors entirely when possible, recommending that users purchase hardware wallets directly from the official manufacturer. Additionally, security experts within and outside the company have reiterated the importance of diversifying risk by adopting multisignature wallet configurations, which require cryptographic authorizations across hardware devices provided by multiple independent manufacturers rather than relying on a single point of failure.