As the cryptocurrency market experiences a robust resurgence, major industry players are rapidly advancing their plans to enter the capital markets. According to sources cited by CoinDesk, Payward, the parent company of leading cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, is reportedly pursuing a new funding round at a staggering $20 billion valuation. This strategic move is coupled with an accelerated pace of mergers and acquisitions, signaling a clear pre-IPO warm-up.
Insiders indicate that Payward is actively seeking fresh external capital, though Kraken has declined to comment on the ongoing fundraising efforts.
This latest financing initiative comes at a time of significant expansion for Payward. The company has recently made a series of high-profile acquisitions, including the $600 million purchase of Reap, a platform specializing in stablecoin payments, and the $550 million acquisition of Bitnomial, a digital asset derivatives platform. Notably, both transactions were executed while maintaining Payward’s impressive $20 billion valuation.
Kraken’s most substantial acquisition to date occurred last year with the $1.5 billion takeover of NinjaTrader, a prominent U.S. retail futures trading platform. NinjaTrader’s registration as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) provides Kraken with a crucial gateway into the lucrative U.S. derivatives market, significantly broadening its reach to encompass traditional futures traders.
Payward’s ambition to go public has been evident for some time. The company took a definitive step towards listing by confidentially submitting a draft S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 19 of last year.
Despite brief rumors in March of an IPO delay due to market volatility, Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, confirmed at the recent Consensus conference in Miami that the company’s listing process is “80% ready,” underscoring their commitment to a public offering.
As a foundational U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, Kraken has long been recognized for facilitating spot trading of major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, alongside seamless fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat transactions. However, Kraken’s strategic vision has evolved beyond the spot market. Through targeted acquisitions, it is aggressively expanding its footprint into specialized areas such as derivatives, staking, and asset custody. This concerted effort is transforming Kraken into a comprehensive, full-spectrum crypto financial services platform.
The profound potential of Kraken has not gone unnoticed by traditional financial powerhouses. In April, Deutsche Börse Group, the parent company of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, announced a strategic investment of $200 million, acquiring approximately 1.5% of Payward’s shares.
This particular transaction was conducted via the secondary market, valuing Payward at approximately $13.3 billion – a figure slightly below the $20 billion valuation observed in previous funding rounds. As a transfer of shares between existing shareholders, Payward itself did not directly receive any proceeds from this deal.
Furthermore, Kraken successfully completed an $800 million two-stage funding round last year. This capital was primarily earmarked to advance its ambitious strategy of bringing “traditional financial assets on-chain.” Key institutional investors in this round included Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital, and Tribe Capital. Subsequently, market-making giant Citadel Securities further bolstered Payward with an additional $200 million strategic investment, validating the $20 billion valuation.
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