Kraken IPO further delayed until at least Q2 2027
Illustration: Kraken, official press kit.
Kraken’s stock market debut is being pushed back again. According to a September 2 report by CoinDesk, Payward, the parent company of the U.S. crypto exchange, is considering an IPO no earlier than Q2 2027. The publication cited two people familiar with the matter. A Kraken representative declined to comment.
The company has not officially announced a new date for the offering. In the meantime, it is using the run-up to a potential IPO to expand: acquiring financial infrastructure, developing payments and tokenized assets, and bringing in strategic partners. By the time Payward goes public, its services could extend well beyond cryptocurrency trading.
From filing to delay
On November 19, 2025, Kraken announced that it had confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The number of shares and the price range had yet to be determined.
A confidential submission allows a company to begin the SEC review process before making its documents public. It does not set a date for trading to begin. Kraken’s announcement stated that the offering would depend on the completion of the SEC review, market conditions and other factors.
In March 2026, CoinDesk reported that the company had put its IPO preparations on hold amid difficult market conditions. Its September report provided a new indication of timing, naming Q2 2027 as the earliest possible window.
The Kraken app on a smartphone. Archive image. Photo: PiggyBank / Unsplash · Unsplash License.
Why timing matters
For a trading platform, conditions in the crypto market affect both business performance and the price prospective shareholders are willing to pay. When client activity slows, the exchange processes fewer trades from which it earns fees. Investors buying into an IPO assess how resilient revenue will be after the listing.
Weak demand for an IPO can force a company to accept a lower valuation or reduce the size of the offering. If the aim is to raise capital for growth, a lower share price means selling a larger stake to raise the same amount. Existing shareholders’ percentage ownership would decline.
A delay gives the company time to report additional quarters of results and present a more convincing investment case. For investors in the private company, it means a longer wait for public trading. The length of that wait does not establish whether the business has gained or lost value: that requires information about its financial position and the terms of individual transactions.
$800 million before the IPO
Payward has already completed large private funding rounds. On November 18, 2025, a day before the S-1 announcement, Kraken said it had raised $800 million in two tranches. It named Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital, HSG, Oppenheimer Alternative Investment Management and Tribe Capital among the investors in the primary tranche.
A separate agreement for a $200 million strategic investment from Citadel Securities valued the company at $20 billion. Citadel Securities provides liquidity for transactions in financial instruments. The partnership also envisaged drawing on its expertise in liquidity, risk management and market structure.
The $20 billion valuation reflects the terms of that private transaction. It does not set Payward’s future public market capitalization or share price. Calculating a per-share value requires the share count and capital structure, while the final terms of an IPO are determined separately.
Private funding gives the company more flexibility to keep growing before going public. How far those funds will go toward acquisitions and investment depends on spending, cash flow and the capital still available. A fuller assessment requires more detailed financial disclosures.
Revenue up, trading down
For Q2 2026, Payward reported $508 million in adjusted revenue, up 17% year over year, and $23 million in adjusted EBITDA. Total transaction volume across the group’s platforms was $310 billion, down 18% from the same period in 2025.
Client assets on the platforms stood at $40 billion. The number of funded accounts increased 42% year over year to 6.6 million.
Illustration: Kraken / official press kit.
The divergence between revenue and trading volume explains why the company cannot be assessed solely by the number of cryptocurrency trades. Payward reported growth in activity across traditional futures, equities and tokenized equities. Asset-Based and Other Revenue accounted for 60% of revenue, up from 55%.
Adjusted EBITDA helps assess operating performance before certain expenses and adjustments, but it is not equivalent to net income or free cash flow. The company explains the methodology behind its metrics, which management uses to analyze the business and which differ from standard GAAP measures.
From crypto to fintech
Payward’s acquisitions expand the range of transactions its infrastructure can support. The company already owns NinjaTrader, a platform for trading traditional futures. These contracts provide exposure to future prices of financial instruments and commodities, extending its product range beyond cryptocurrencies.
On May 1, 2026, Payward completed its acquisition of Bitnomial, a U.S. provider of regulated derivatives infrastructure. The deal brought brokerage, exchange and clearing operations under CFTC oversight into the group. Clearing handles settlement and the management of obligations between counterparties.
On July 1, the company completed its acquisition of Reap, a provider of card issuance and cross-border stablecoin payments infrastructure. These capabilities are offered to other financial companies through Payward Services, allowing them to integrate existing services into their own products.
This model adds banks, brokers and fintech companies to a business that also serves individual traders. Prospective shareholders will need to assess several revenue streams: trading, client assets, payments and infrastructure services for partners. Company reports will help show their contribution and the costs of integrating acquisitions.
Nasdaq invests in Payward
On September 10, 2026, after the report of the IPO delay, Nasdaq announced an agreement to invest $100 million in Payward through Nasdaq Ventures. The companies also expanded their work on Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs) and agreed to collaborate on market surveillance.
The project involves infrastructure for tokenized equities, combining digital records with traditional market rules and protections for issuers and investors. Nasdaq and Payward named Q2 2027 as the expected launch window for NETs.
The strategic investment gives Nasdaq a stake in the private company and supports their joint work. An IPO involves a separate process: publicly disclosing documents, setting the terms of the offering and beginning trading.
The Saldo Bank deal
On October 14, 2026, Payward announced an agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish company that owns Saldo Bank. The digital bank is licensed in Lithuania and is authorized to operate in five European markets.
Saldo offers deposits and lending products. The acquisition is intended to expand Payward’s European banking infrastructure, including payments, cards and services for fintech partners. Closing is expected in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.
The agreement has been signed, but the bank has not yet passed into Payward’s control. The deal adds context to the IPO discussion: ahead of a potential offering, Payward is assembling a group spanning trading, payments and banking.
What to watch next
The first milestone is the release of official IPO documents. A public prospectus would disclose financial statements, ownership, risks and the intended use of proceeds. Specific offering details would follow: the number of shares, the price range, the listing venue and the first trading date.
Subsequent quarterly results will also matter. Investors need to understand how far new business lines support revenue when cryptocurrency activity slows, how expenses change and what returns acquisitions deliver. Account growth is more informative when considered alongside account activity and the revenue it generates.
For holders of private shares, a future listing does not automatically mean they can sell their stake immediately. The timing depends on ownership terms, restrictions attached to the particular investment and any applicable lock-up period.
Ahead of a potential IPO, Payward is diversifying its revenue streams: futures and payments have joined cryptocurrency trading, with banking services next in line. Prospective shareholders will be looking at whether these businesses can reduce its exposure to crypto market swings. That will also influence the valuation at an offering whose timing Kraken has yet to confirm officially.
