Report: Kraken IPO delayed to second quarter of 2027

Kraken's parent company Payward delays initial public offering until 2027

Kraken's parent company Payward has postponed its originally planned initial public offering to the second quarter of 2027 at the earliest because market conditions disrupted its previous listing schedule.

Summary

Payward may not complete its initial public offering until at least the second quarter of 2027. The company secretly submitted a draft S-1 registration statement in November 2025. Before filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Payward raised $800 million at a valuation of $20 billion. Despite the decline in transaction volume, adjusted revenue rose 17% to $508 million in the second quarter.

Kraken's IPO timeline extended to 2027

According to reports on Wednesday, Payward has postponed its IPO plan to the second quarter of 2027 at the earliest, citing two people familiar with the matter. This new timeline lengthens the IPO process that has been delayed many times. Payward was initially ready to go public after cryptocurrency companies returned to the U.S. stock market in 2025, but falling digital asset prices and weakening trading activity made this timetable difficult to maintain.

Payward secretly submitted a draft Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2025. Confidential submissions allow companies to begin the review process by the Securities and Exchange Commission without immediately releasing their financial statements and other disclosures.

Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi later confirmed the secret submission at an industry conference in April. Sethi said at the time that obtaining public capital was not the main reason why the company sought to go public, and he saw regulatory trust and long-term planning as more important factors.

In March this year, Payward suspended its multibillion-dollar listing plan due to a difficult market environment and declining demand for new cryptocurrency stocks. Reuters said it could not independently verify the report, while a Kraken spokesman declined to comment on the listing plan.

The IPO in the second quarter of 2027 will still depend on the review of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, market conditions, and Payward's final decision. Because its filings remain confidential, the company has not publicly disclosed the proposed share price, ticker symbol, exchange or number of shares sold.

Payward entered the listing process with a valuation of US$20 billion

Shortly before submitting the S-1 draft, Payward completed a US$800 million financing plan in two tranches. The deal values the company at $20 billion and provides additional private capital ahead of a proposed listing.

Citadel Securities contributed US$200 million through strategic investments. The funding also supports Payward's work on regulated derivatives, tokenized financial products, and international markets.

After Circle Internet Group and Bullish completed their IPOs in 2025, market expectations for public listings have increased. Several other digital asset companies have also begun preparing to go public, triggering expectations that another batch of U.S. listed companies will emerge in the industry in 2026.

Subsequently, weak cryptocurrency prices, falling trading volumes and poor performance of stocks of some recently listed companies reduced investor interest. Grayscale, Consensus and Ledger have also postponed plans to go public, all of which are waiting for more favorable market conditions.

Ledger has suspended preparations for a U.S. listing that could value the hardware wallet company at about $4 billion. The company has hired Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Barclays as advisers, but has not yet submitted a draft S-1. BitGo was identified by the report at the time as the only crypto-native company to go public in 2026, and its trading price was 36% lower than its January IPO price. The decline provides another data point for private crypto companies assessing the needs of public market investors.

Payward revenue grew, but trading activity fell

Payward continued to expand its business during the listing suspension. The company's second-quarter results showed adjusted revenue of US$508 million, a 17% increase from the same period in 2025. The number of funded accounts increased by 42% year-on-year to 6.6 million, while assets held on the platform reached US$40 billion. According to Payward's financial report, assets and other income accounted for 60% of adjusted total income.

Trading data showed a less optimistic situation. As cryptocurrency spot activity slowed, total trading volume on the platform fell 13% year-on-year to US$310 billion, while adjusted EBITDA fell to US$23 million.

First-quarter results have shown how the new business line can reduce Payward's reliance on spot cryptocurrency trading. In May, the company reported adjusted revenue of $507 million, a year-on-year increase of 3%, despite a 22% decline in Bitcoin during the quarter and a 38% decline in industry spot trading volume.

Supported by NinjaTrader, Breakout and Bitnomial, the average daily trading volume of futures increased by 51% in the first quarter. As of the end of the quarter, the number of funded accounts was 6.1 million, compared with 6.6 million three months later. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $18 million as Payward invested in acquisitions, product development and regulatory infrastructure. As part of a cost restructuring, the company also laid off about 150 employees in May, or about 5% of its total workforce.

Kraken builds a regulated U.S. derivatives business

While its shares remain privately held, Payward enters derivatives, tokenized stocks and payment services through acquisitions and product launches. The company acquired U.S. retail futures platform NinjaTrader for US$1.5 billion in 2025. Payward also bought Bitnomial, a derivatives exchange regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, for $550 million, and acquired Breakout, a proprietary trading platform for qualified users.

Bitnomial provides Payward with a regulated avenue to provide derivatives to eligible U.S. customers. In August, Hyperliquid Labs and Payward entered the stage of in-depth negotiations to introduce some Hyperliquid-related perpetual contracts to the United States through the platform. Any products offered through Bitnomial will operate under rules enforced by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Bitnomial Exchange is registered as a designated contract market, while NinjaTrader Clearing operates as a registered futures commission dealer under the name Kraken Derivatives US.

In terms of tokenized stocks, Payward acquired Backed Finance, the issuer of Kraken's xStocks product. The transaction allows the company to better control the issuance and trading infrastructure used to provide blockchain-based stock and exchange-traded fund representation. Payward also agreed in May to buy Hong Kong-based payments company Reap Technologies for $600 million in cash and stock. The deal values Payward's stake at the US$20 billion valuation determined in its financing round, adding stablecoin-based cross-border and commercial payment services to the company's business.