Another year of waiting, another promise pushed back. After setting the stage at the beginning of 2025, Payward, the parent company of Kraken, has delayed its long-awaited IPO to the second quarter of 2027 at the earliest, according to two sources familiar with the matter cited by CoinDesk. It is just the latest slide in a timeline that continues to stretch out indefinitely.
Key takeaways from this article:
- Payward, Kraken’s parent company, has pushed its IPO to the second quarter of 2027, fueling further endless anticipation.
- Despite this delay, Kraken has maintained impressive growth and ramped up acquisitions, evolving into a comprehensive financial services platform.
Another delay in an already long wait
In November 2025, Payward filed a confidential registration statement with the SEC, the US securities regulator, shortly after raising $800 million from investors at a $20 billion valuation, with $200 million contributed by Citadel Securities. At the time, the dream of a public listing seemed within reach.
Then, in March, CoinDesk revealed that the company had put its plans on hold, citing market conditions that were too unfavorable for crypto prices, trading volumes, and valuations. At the time, sources close to the matter insisted that Kraken remained interested in a listing, but not at just any price.
Six months later, little has changed. A Kraken spokesperson declined to comment on the new timeline. However, the Wyoming-based firm continues to show solid financial health, reporting $508 million in adjusted revenue for the second quarter—up 17% year-on-year—along with 6.6 million funded accounts and $40 billion in assets held on the platform.
Kraken is not alone in pushing back its plans
The crypto IPO market has cooled significantly since the early-year euphoria, when the successful debuts of Circle and Bullish suggested a wave of upcoming listings. Weaker crypto prices, sluggish volumes, and disappointing performances from some newly listed stocks have dampened investor appetite. As a result, several industry heavyweights have followed Kraken's lead: asset manager Grayscale, Ethereum software developer Consensys, and Ledger, which was also reportedly considering suspending its NYSE listing.
Far from pausing itself, the company has actually accelerated its shopping spree. This includes the acquisition of the derivatives platform Bitnomial for $550 million in May, the purchase of stablecoin payment specialist Reap for $600 million in July, and the announced takeover of Magic Labs' electronic wallet business. These moves are gradually transforming Kraken—originally a simple exchange—into a comprehensive financial services platform covering trading, payments, and derivatives.
Postponing an IPO is by no means an admission of weakness for Payward; rather, it reflects a company choosing to grow before presenting itself to public investors. Still, patience has its limits, and Wall Street rarely waits forever for a filing to be perfect before moving on to the next deal.
Magali
Falling down the rabbit hole in 2017, I went from an avid reader to Editor-in-Chief of Le Journal du Coin. I love getting involved behind the scenes of projects to advance my vision of a decentralized future. A lover of the written word, I coordinate our teams to transform technical complexity into human, precise information without unnecessary jargon. Between entrepreneurship and editing, my mission is clear: to popularize tomorrow, today.
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