Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Kraken parent Payward announced plans to buy a bank in Lithuania, Ledger asked resellers across Southeast Asia to suspend hardware wallet sales and rival Trezor began cutting its authorized reseller network as a precaution.

Kraken parent to buy Lithuanian Saldo Bank amid TradFi expansion

Payward will buy Lithuania-based Saldo Bank as part of its expansion into traditional financial services, calling it “a deliberate next step in an infrastructure strategy we’ve been building for years.”

Payward signed a definitive agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, a Finnish holding company whose subsidiary, Saldo Bank UAB, is a digital bank licensed in Lithuania, according to a Wednesday announcement.

Payward said Saldo Bank’s EU banking license and footprint will enable it to expand into four operating markets, including Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany, where the bank already offers retail term deposits. The bank’s authorization is also passported into the Netherlands.

The acquisition is expected to close in 2027, subject to customary regulatory approvals. It would enable Payward Banking to offer traditional banking services, including interest on deposits, lending products and banking-as-a-service, such as card issuance, passporting and lending capabilities to small and medium enterprises.

Ledger asks resellers to halt sales in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong

Ledger has requested sellers and distributors of its devices in six Southeast Asian countries and Hong Kong to suspend sales and remove its hardware wallets from shelves as it investigates reports of tampered devices.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Ledger said the request covers resellers in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

“To be clear, as the investigation continues, the only confirmed incidents remain contained to Southeast Asia. We have not verified a drain linked to a device bought elsewhere,” said Ledger.

“The investigation is ongoing to determine who tampered with these devices and where in the distribution chain it happened,” it added.

The wider sales suspension request expands on Ledger’s earlier request for reseller CryptoBilis to stop sales and shipments. The investigation became public on Oct. 9 after reports of stolen crypto linked to devices purchased through the reseller.

Trezor cuts reseller network after Ledger wallet tampering reports

Hardware wallet maker Trezor is reducing its authorized reseller network after reports that a Southeast Asian reseller modified Ledger devices to steal users’ recovery phrases.

Trezor said Tuesday the decision was precautionary and that it had no evidence its own devices were compromised. Chief commercial officer Danny Sanders said affected resellers would lose their authorized status on Jan. 1, with shipments to those businesses stopping immediately.

The move follows rival Ledger’s confirmation that at least one device sold by reseller CryptoBilis contained an unauthorized hardware implant capable of capturing recovery phrases and transmitting them over cellular networks.

The incident has raised questions about the security of hardware wallet supply chains. Trezor told Cointelegraph that its existing checks can detect counterfeit devices and modified firmware, but the Ledger implant operated differently by reading information displayed on the device’s screen.

Blockchain investigators have estimated potential losses of between $72 million and $86 million, although Ledger said it had not confirmed the total.

Trezor advised customers to purchase devices directly from the manufacturer and consider multisignature wallets using hardware from different providers.