Payward Expands Beyond Kraken to Build Unified Financial Infrastructure

Payward, the parent company of the Kraken exchange, is shifting from a pure crypto‑exchange model to a broader financial‑infrastructure play. Co‑CEO Arjun Sethi said the firm is unifying trading, payments, asset management and institutional services on a common “one ledger” stack.

Four Pillars of the Platform

The strategy is organized around four business lines:

• Kraken trading – serving 6.6 million funded accounts with roughly $40‑$50 billion in assets.
• Banking – including cards, lending and a Wyoming‑chartered special‑purpose depository institution.
• Asset management – tokenized equities, structured products and partnerships with managers such as Bitwise.
• Payward Services – a B2B API suite that provides custody, liquidity, compliance and settlement capabilities to banks, fintechs and other crypto platforms.

Build, Buy or Partner

Payward is combining internal development with strategic acquisitions and partnerships:

• Acquired NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion to obtain a U.S. futures brokerage platform.
• Purchased Bitnomial for $550 million, adding regulated derivatives infrastructure.
• Plans to acquire a European bank, reported to be a Lithuanian institution.
• Partnered with Nasdaq (a $100 million investment) to launch equity tokens in 2027.
• Collaborating with the London Stock Exchange on tokenized public equities for a 2027 launch.

Infrastructure for External Clients

Payward Services repackages the internal stack for external use. At least 25 companies, including Hyperliquid, are building products on these APIs and are slated to launch this year.

Financial Outlook and IPO Timing

Payward remains profitable, reporting $508 million in adjusted revenue for Q2 2026, a 17 % year‑over‑year increase. The company filed confidentially for an IPO in late 2025 but does not expect to list before Q2 2027, stating that a public offering will occur when it aligns with business, shareholder and regulatory considerations.