Payward's decision, as the parent company of the Kraken exchange, to postpone its initial public offering (IPO) is not a sign of weakness, but a well-thought-out strategic maneuver. The company is deliberately betting on the development of tokenization of traditional assets, aiming to become a key bridge between classical finance and the crypto industry. Instead of going public amid unstable valuations, Payward is investing resources in building infrastructure that could redefine the rules of the game in the market.
Although a confidential IPO filing was submitted back in November 2025, the process was paused in March. Now, the second quarter of 2027 is cited as the target. The delay looks logical against the backdrop of ambitious projects. Together with the London Stock Exchange (LSE), Payward is tokenizing shares of the 100 largest companies, turning them into xStocks instruments with 1:1 backing. The program is available to investors from more than 110 countries, although entry remains closed to residents of the US and the UK. The volume of this market has already reached $40 billion, and the number of holders has exceeded 200,000 — an impressive start since June 2025.
In parallel, a partnership with Nasdaq is developing. A joint interface, slated for launch in the first half of 2027, will allow tokenized assets to move between regulated venues and public blockchains. This is not just a technical detail, but a fundamental step toward creating a unified liquidity environment. In April, Deutsche Börse acquired approximately 1.5% of Payward's shares for $200 million, confirming the growing interest of institutional giants in this strategy.
Why the pause before the IPO is a deliberate choice
Payward's financial metrics explain the caution. In November 2025, the company raised $800 million at a valuation of $20 billion, but by April that valuation had fallen to approximately $13.3 billion. Revenue in the second quarter grew by 17% to $508 million, yet EBITDA collapsed by 71% year-over-year to $23 million. Trading volume on the platform also declined by 18% to $310 billion. Under such conditions, the public market would hardly have adequately valued the company's potential.
Instead, Payward is consolidating assets. The closing of the deal to acquire the derivatives platform Bitnomial in May gave the company a full suite of regulated derivatives instruments in the US, which are now planned to be leased out. As Payward co-head Arjun Sethi notes, the industry is consolidating around them, and the company is built for the fastest possible growth in such conditions.
It is telling that the official documents do not even mention a listing. First comes infrastructure for "foreign" markets. Whether the cost of this will fall on investors' shoulders or be built into transaction fees remains unclear.
My view: Payward is building not just an exchange, but a global clearing house for tokenized assets. If the partnerships with LSE and Nasdaq prove successful, by 2027 we could see a company with a completely different, much higher valuation. In this context, the delayed IPO looks not like a postponement, but like preparation for a far more significant market entry.