Kraken's parent company Payward has postponed its initial public offering to the second quarter of 2027 at the earliest, according to people familiar with the matter. The company cited weak crypto market conditions, including depressed trading volumes and valuations, as the reason for the delay.
Payward confidentially filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the SEC in November 2025 but suspended its IPO timeline as conditions deteriorated. The company had raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation in November 2025, with Citadel Securities contributing $200 million of that total.
Payward operates Kraken, one of the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume and user base. The company reported adjusted revenue of $508 million in the second quarter of 2026, up 17 percent year over year. Funded accounts on the platform rose 42 percent to 6.6 million, while total assets stood at $40 billion.
The delay occurs amid broader weakness in crypto markets. Bitcoin's price fell from above $65,000 in late May 2024 to roughly $40,000 by September 2024 before recovering, while trading activity on major exchanges contracted sharply through the first half of 2026. Public market appetite for crypto-native companies has remained cautious, with several planned debuts postponed or shelved.
Payward's confidential filing allowed the company to refine its registration materials without public disclosure, a process available to emerging growth companies under SEC rules. The approach gave the firm flexibility to withdraw or delay its offering without market disruption. The SEC does not mandate public disclosure of confidential filings unless the company formally goes public.
Citadel Securities invested $200 million as part of the November 2025 funding round at the $20 billion valuation. The valuation assigned in that round implies Payward would need either substantial revenue growth or a recovery in public market multiples for tech and financial services companies to achieve a higher valuation at IPO.
Payward must file a public registration statement and await SEC clearance before launching its offering. The company has not announced whether it will attempt to proceed with an IPO in Q2 2027 or faces additional delays. A return to stronger crypto trading volumes and higher asset valuations would likely be required to move forward.
