Kraken’s parent Payward is building a financial empire that goes far beyond crypto trading
Kraken parent Payward is expanding beyond crypto trading to build a unified financial infrastructure platform spanning trading, banking, asset management and services for other businesses. Its strategy combines acquisitions—including NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion and Bitnomial for $550 million—with partnerships such as Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange, plus APIs that let outside firms use Payward’s custody, compliance, payments and settlement systems. The company says Kraken has 6.6 million funded accounts holding $40–$50 billion in assets, and Payward Services has at least 25 prospective clients. Payward reported $508 million in adjusted second-quarter 2026 revenue, up 17% year over year. It has confidentially filed for an IPO but reportedly does not expect to list before Q2 2027.
