Key Takeaways
- Payward, Kraken’s parent entity, has postponed its public offering until Q2 2027 or later
- The company submitted a confidential draft S-1 registration to the SEC in November 2025
- An $800 million funding round at a $20 billion valuation preceded the SEC filing
- Second-quarter adjusted revenue climbed 17% annually to $508 million even as trading activity declined
- Multiple cryptocurrency companies like Grayscale and Ledger have similarly deferred their IPO plans
The parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, Payward, has extended its timeline for going public until at least the second quarter of 2027. This information comes from two individuals with direct knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the planning process.
This represents the second postponement for Payward’s public market ambitions. Back in March, the organization shelved its listing plans as deteriorating cryptocurrency valuations and declining platform activity created an unfavorable environment for market entry.
Crypto Industry Faces IPO Bottleneck
The situation extends beyond Payward alone. Numerous blockchain and cryptocurrency enterprises that were moving toward public listings have retreated from those plans. Companies including Grayscale, Consensys, and Ledger have all put their IPO ambitions on ice.
Hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger had assembled a team of investment banks including Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and Barclays to facilitate a potential $4 billion public offering. Despite this preparation, the company never submitted preliminary registration documents and ultimately suspended the initiative as market sentiment deteriorated.
Among the limited number of crypto-focused firms that proceeded with listings in 2026, BitGo stood outāthough not in a positive way. The company’s shares were trading 36% beneath their January IPO pricing, serving as a cautionary tale that influenced other private companies to reconsider their timing.
The anticipated surge of cryptocurrency public offerings in 2026 never materialized. While Circle and Bullish successfully completed their listings during 2025, generating optimism for additional offerings, subsequent price declines and disappointing post-IPO stock performance significantly dampened institutional interest.
Financial Performance and Strategic Growth
For the second quarter, Payward disclosed adjusted revenue of $508 million, representing a 17% increase compared to the same period in the previous year. The number of funded user accounts expanded by 42% to reach 6.6 million, while total assets held on the platform touched $40 billion.
Nevertheless, overall trading volume across the platform decreased by 13% year-over-year, settling at $310 billion. Adjusted EBITDA contracted to $23 million as the organization invested heavily in acquisitions and platform infrastructure development.
Despite the postponed IPO, Payward has pursued an aggressive expansion strategy through multiple acquisitions. The company paid $1.5 billion to acquire NinjaTrader, a retail-focused futures trading platform, in 2025. Additionally, it purchased Bitnomial, a derivatives exchange with CFTC regulatory approval, for $550 million.
In July, Payward finalized its $600 million acquisition of Reap Technologies, a Hong Kong-based company specializing in stablecoin payment solutions. The firm has also entered into an agreement to acquire the wallet infrastructure division of Magic Labs.
The purchase of Backed Finance, which operates as the issuer supporting Kraken’s xStocks tokenized equity products, provided the company with enhanced oversight of its tokenized securities infrastructure.
Prior to submitting its confidential S-1 draft registration in November 2025, Payward successfully raised $800 million in private financing at a $20 billion company valuation. Market maker Citadel Securities participated with a $200 million investment as part of that funding round.
During an industry conference in April, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi publicly acknowledged the confidential SEC filing. He emphasized that obtaining access to public market capital was not the primary motivation behind pursuing an IPO.
Should the company move forward with a Q2 2027 listing, execution would remain contingent upon completing the SEC review process, prevailing market conditions at that time, and a final commitment from Payward leadership to proceed with the offering.
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