Kraken Parent Payward Cuts 150 Staff Ahead of IPO, Seeks $20B Funding

According to CoinDesk, Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, is cutting approximately 150 employees as part of organizational optimization ahead of its initial public offering. The company stated it is continuously evaluating its structure to ensure it has the right team to achieve growth targets and better serve customers.

Payward is simultaneously seeking $20 billion in new funding to support its pre-IPO expansion strategy, which includes recent acquisitions of stablecoin payment company Reap for $600 million and digital derivatives platform Bitnomial for $550 million. Payward filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the SEC on November 19, 2025. At Consensus Miami, Payward and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the exchange has completed "80%" of its IPO preparation work.