Kraken Parent Payward Raises at $20B Valuation, Accelerates M&A with Acquisitions

According to sources, Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency platform Kraken, is raising capital at a $20 billion valuation, the company announced May 12. The funding round comes as Payward has significantly accelerated its acquisition strategy, including purchases of stablecoin-focused payments firm Reap for $600 million and derivatives platform Bitnomial for $550 million. Its largest acquisition was the 2025 purchase of NinjaTrader, a U.S. retail futures platform and CFTC-registered futures commission merchant, for $1.5 billion, giving Kraken a key foothold in the U.S. derivatives market.

On the IPO front, Payward filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the SEC in November 2025. Though reports in March 2026 suggested the company had paused its public listing plans due to unfavorable market conditions, sources indicate the company remains committed to going public, potentially awaiting improved conditions. At last week's Consensus conference in Miami, Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the trading platform was "80% ready" for an IPO.