Kraken IPO timeline moves into 2027
Kraken parent Payward has postponed its planned initial public offering until as early as the second quarter of 2027, according to a Reuters report published Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, citing two people familiar with the matter. The new timeline extends an IPO process that had already faced several delays.
Payward originally prepared for a public debut after cryptocurrency companies returned to U.S. equity markets in 2025. Falling digital asset prices and weaker trading activity later made that schedule harder to maintain. In November 2025, the company confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, allowing the SEC review process to begin without immediately publishing financial statements or other disclosures.
Delays and the road ahead
In March, Payward paused its multi-billion-dollar offering as difficult market conditions reduced demand for new crypto stocks. Reuters said it could not independently confirm the report, and a Kraken spokesperson declined to comment on listing plans.
During an industry conference in April, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said access to public capital was not the company’s main reason for pursuing a listing, describing regulatory trust and long-term plans as more important. An IPO in the second quarter of 2027 would still depend on SEC review, market conditions and Payward’s final decision. Since its draft filing remains confidential, the company has not publicly disclosed a proposed share price, ticker, exchange or number of shares for sale.
Payward entered the process with a $20 billion valuation
Shortly before submitting the draft S-1, Payward completed an $800 million financing package across two tranches. The transaction valued the company at $20 billion and supplied additional private capital ahead of the proposed listing. Citadel Securities contributed $200 million through a strategic investment, and the funding supported Payward’s work in regulated derivatives, tokenized financial products and international markets.
Industry-wide listing freeze
Expectations for new listings had increased after Circle Internet Group and Bullish completed IPOs in 2025. Several other digital asset companies also began preparing offerings, raising hopes for another group of U.S. listings in 2026. Weaker cryptocurrency prices, lower trading volumes and poor share performance at some recently listed companies later reduced investor interest. Grayscale, Consensys and Ledger also postponed their listing plans.
Ledger paused preparations for a U.S. listing that could have valued the hardware wallet company at about $4 billion. It had hired Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Barclays as advisers but had not filed a draft S-1. BitGo, identified in the report as the only crypto-native company to list during 2026 at that time, was trading 36% below its January IPO price — another data point for private crypto companies assessing public-market demand.
Payward revenue rises while trading activity falls
Payward continued expanding while the listing remained on hold. Second-quarter adjusted revenue rose 17% from the same period in 2025 to $508 million. Funded accounts increased 42% year over year to 6.6 million, and assets held on the platform reached $40 billion. Asset-based and other revenue accounted for 60% of total adjusted revenue, according to Payward’s financial report.
Trading figures were less favorable. Total platform transaction volume dropped 13% year over year to $310 billion as crypto spot activity slowed, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell to $23 million.
First-quarter signals
First-quarter results had already shown how newer business lines reduced Payward’s dependence on spot crypto trading. In May, the company reported a 3% annual increase in adjusted revenue even as Bitcoin fell 22% during the quarter and industry spot volume declined 38%. Daily average revenue trades in futures rose 51% in the first quarter, supported by NinjaTrader, Breakout and Bitnomial.
Funded accounts stood at 6.1 million at the end of the first quarter, compared with 6.6 million three months later. Adjusted EBITDA was $18 million in the first quarter as Payward invested in acquisitions, product development and regulatory infrastructure. The company also reduced its workforce by about 150 employees in May, equal to roughly 5% of its staff, as part of a cost restructuring.
Kraken builds regulated U.S. derivatives business
Payward has used acquisitions and product launches to move into derivatives, tokenized stocks and payment services while its shares remain privately held.
Derivatives and futures expansion
In 2025, Payward acquired NinjaTrader, a U.S. retail futures platform, for $1.5 billion. It also bought Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange, in a $550 million transaction, and added Breakout, a proprietary trading platform for qualified users. Bitnomial gives Payward a regulated route for offering derivatives to eligible American customers.
In August, Hyperliquid Labs and Payward entered advanced discussions about bringing selected Hyperliquid-linked perpetual futures to the United States through the Bitnomial platform. Any products offered through Bitnomial would operate under rules enforced by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Bitnomial Exchange is registered as a designated contract market, while NinjaTrader Clearing operates as a registered futures commission merchant under the Kraken Derivatives US name.
Tokenized equities and payments
In tokenized equities, Payward acquired Backed Finance, the issuer behind Kraken’s xStocks products. The deal gave the company more control over the issuance and trading infrastructure used to offer blockchain-based representations of stocks and exchange-traded funds.
Payward also agreed in May to acquire Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies for $600 million in cash and stock. The transaction, which valued Payward shares at the same $20 billion level established by its funding round, added stablecoin-based cross-border and commercial payment services to the company’s operations.
