Payward, the parent company of crypto platform Kraken, is raising new capital at a valuation of $20 billion, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Kraken declined to comment on the increase.
The latest round of fundraising comes as the company ramps up spending on acquisitions.
Most recently, it purchased stablecoin-focused payments company Reap for $600 million and digital asset derivatives platform Bitnomial for $550 million as it continues to grow ahead of a planned initial public offering. Payward was valued at $20 billion in both transactions.
Its biggest deal came in 2025 with the $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader, a US-based retail futures platform and CFTC-registered futures commission trader. The acquisition gave Kraken a significant position in the US derivatives market while expanding its reach to a broad base of active futures traders.
Payward said it confidentially filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 19, marking the first step toward a potential public listing.
CoinDesk reported in March that the company had paused its IPO plans amid unfavorable market conditions. Sources said the company remains interested in going public, although probably only once market conditions improve.
At Consensus Miami last week, Payward and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the exchange is “80% ready” to go public.
Kraken is a US-based cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to buy, sell, and trade digital assets, including bitcoin and ether, using fiat currencies or cryptocurrencies. The company has expanded beyond spot trading into products such as derivatives, staking and custody, transforming into a broader full-service crypto platform.
In recent years, the Wyoming-based company has adopted a more focused but increasingly strategic acquisition strategy aimed at expanding beyond core cryptocurrency trading into derivatives and broader multi-asset market infrastructure.
Participation in Deutsche Börse
Deutsche Börse (DB1), owner of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and Xetra, announced in April that it had acquired a $200 million stake in Payward.
The stake, acquired through a secondary sale of shares, represented approximately 1.5% of the company. The transaction valued Payward at $13.3 billion, down from the roughly $20 billion valuation attached to previous fundraising rounds. Payward did not receive any proceeds from the transaction.
Last November, Kraken said it had raised $800 million in two tranches to support its push to bring traditional financial products to the chain. The round included backing from investors including Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital and Tribe Capital, while Citadel Securities later agreed to a separate $200 million strategic investment at a $20 billion valuation.
Read more: Kraken Parent Opts into OCC Charter in Bid to Become a Federal Crypto Bank
