Payward

Payward is the parent company of the Kraken exchange. In 2025 it reshuffled management under co-CEOs Arjun Sethi and David Ripley and shifted focus from spot trading toward derivatives, tokenized assets and institutional services.

In 2025, Payward paid $1.5 billion for NinjaTrader, a US retail futures platform and CFTC-registered FCM, securing a foothold in US derivatives; in October it added licensed futures exchange Small Exchange for $32.5 million cash and $67.5 million in stock.

In November 2025 Payward raised $800 million in two tranches at a $20 billion valuation from Jane Street, DRW and Tribe Capital, with Citadel Securities taking a separate $200 million stake; on November 19 it confidentially filed a draft S-1.

In March 2026, Payward became the first digital asset company granted a Federal Reserve master account and partnered with Nasdaq on tokenized-equity settlement infrastructure; the same month it paused its IPO citing market conditions.

In April 2026, Deutsche Börse bought about 1.5% through a secondary sale for $200 million, valuing Payward at $13.3 billion; Payward then agreed to buy stablecoin payments firm Reap for $600 million and Bitnomial for $550 million.

In May 2026, Payward cut about 150 roles, roughly 5% of a 3,000-person workforce, to tighten its financial profile; its co-CEO said the platform was "about 80% ready" to list, targeting an IPO in the second half of 2026.

In March 2026 Payward, parent of Kraken, obtained a Federal Reserve master account, giving its banking arm direct access to the Fed's payment systems. The same month it agreed to acquire Bitnomial for up to $550 million in cash and stock, adding the first U.S. company holding all three CFTC licences for exchange, clearinghouse and brokerage, in a deal valuing Payward's equity at $20 billion and expected to close in the first half.

On valuation, Deutsche Börse bought about 1.5% through a $200 million secondary in April, implying $13.3 billion; on September 10 Nasdaq Ventures invested $100 million at a $21 billion valuation, reviving the mark, as the two work on Nasdaq Equity Tokens targeted for the second quarter of 2027. Operating results for the second quarter showed adjusted revenue of $508 million, up 17% year on year, adjusted EBITDA of $23 million, $310 billion in platform volume, 6.6 million funded accounts, up 42%, and $40 billion in assets. On listing, Payward confidentially filed an S-1 in November 2025, paused in March 2026 amid market conditions, and reports in September pointed to the second quarter of 2027 at the earliest; CFO Stephanie Lemmerman departed in February.

Payward is converting an exchange into a multi-charter financial infrastructure: beyond the Wyoming SPDI and the Federal Reserve master account, it applied to the OCC in May for a national trust charter, stacking state and federal oversight to buy institutional custody and clearing with regulatory certainty. The structure is held up by acquisitions: NinjaTrader, Bitnomial and Reap at $600 million, over $2.6 billion in total, filling futures, clearing, cross-border payments and card issuance. Distribution sits in Payward Services, where partner banks and brokerages reach trading, tokenised equities and regulated derivatives through one API, which makes the listing story an infrastructure story. Behind the 80% IPO readiness is whether that B2B channel produces predictable revenue before 2027.

Jesse Powell, Co-Founder of Kraken and Chairman of the Payward Board. He founded Kraken in 2011, stepped down as CEO in 2022 to become Chairman and still shapes governance and regulatory posture. Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO and Director. He co-founded the venture firm Tribe Capital and previously worked at Social Capital; he joined Kraken as Co-CEO in 2024 and owns strategy and transaction matters. Dave Ripley, Co-CEO. He joined Kraken as COO in 2016, became CEO in 2022 and has served as Co-CEO alongside Sethi since 2024, responsible for platform operations and global expansion. Robert Moore, Chief Financial Officer. He leads financial strategy, planning and reporting and coordinates financial integration across multiple deals. Curtis Ting, Chief Operating Officer. He has long led Kraken's global operations and regional expansion, previously as Managing Director for Europe, and now oversees delivery, support and compliance operations. Ben Gray, Chief Legal Officer. He leads legal strategy, governance and risk, covering global regulatory engagement and litigation.

Payward, through Kraken, holds a Wyoming special purpose depository institution bank charter, a UK Financial Conduct Authority multilateral trading facility licence, an Irish Markets in Crypto-Assets authorisation, and a Commodity Futures Trading Commission designated contract market licence.