Kraken parent reports 33% revenue growth ahead of IPO

Kraken’s parent company, Payward, says it had a strong year in 2025, reporting a 33% increase in revenue driven by higher trading volumes and the benefits of recent acquisitions. The announcement comes as the company prepares for its listing.

Its revenue reached $2.2 billion in 2025, up from $1.6 billion in 2024, according to Payward. Kraken also benefited from higher transaction volumes and strong results across various areas of the business, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi noted. 

It reported $2 trillion in transactions, up 34% from a year ago, and showed more engaged users. The business, Sethi says, has well-balanced, diversified revenue streams. Trade activity accounted for around 47% of revenue, while asset-based services and other sources accounted for 53%, helping prevent the company from overreliance on a single source of revenue.

Strong trading activity drives overall performance

Increased trading activity on its platforms was the primary driver of Payward’s growth in 2025. Sethi described the performance as “broad-based,” meaning it was not limited to a single product or market. There was also a consistently positive, steady uptick in user-related metrics reported by the company. Asset growth within the platform rose 11% to $48.2 billion, and funded accounts grew 50% to 5.7 million.

These results are coming at a time when interest in the company’s eventual listing is rising. The company said in November it had confidentially applied for an initial public offering (IPO). While there is no publicly announced timetable, the most recent financial report gives investors a sense of how the company is doing before it opens its doors to any market. The acquisitions in 2025 fueled Payward’s revenue and products, Sethi said.

For inspiration, it turned to big technology companies like Meta and Amazon and brought its merchandise to market, fine-tuning it to better serve one group of customers than others. Over the year, Payward purchased a handful of trading ecosystem companies, including Backed last month. Backed belongs in the tokenized stocks space and is part of the widespread xStocks platform, bringing crypto-forward with regular financial products. 

Many deal announcements had an immediate impact, Sethi added. He said the acquisitions of NinjaTrader and Breakout alone led directly to a 119% increase in daily average revenue trades, showing how quickly new products and user groups can boost earnings.

Payward focuses on long-term growth as IPO interest builds

For a growth strategy in the years to come, Payward says it is rooted in long-term, not short-term, growth. Sethi explained that the company doesn’t pursue an objective defined by a single measure, such as revenue or the number of users. 

Instead, he said the company is focusing on improving long-term results in a safer and more balanced way. That means growing steadily across multiple asset types and regions, rather than profiting right off the bat from a few markets.

Payward’s approach will neither be focused on a product that is out of step with the market nor on chasing big bangs, as the industry has described them. Instead, it aims to create a single, harmonious whole, with all services supported by a single tool that integrates them into a one-size-fits-all system. 

With growing revenue, stronger activity, and a wider product offering, Payward is developing into a mature crypto company ready to meet the hurdles public markets demand. It remains to be seen whether the market will be favorable to Kraken’s listing. 

For now, however, the company’s recent earnings numbers make one thing clear: its parent company wants to move on from a position of financial stability and expand its market reach.

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