While the entire market awaits the listing of a major crypto exchange, Payward, the parent company of Kraken, is demonstratively shifting its priorities. Filing a confidential IPO application in November 2025 was merely a formality: by March, the process was frozen, and the new target date has been pushed to the second quarter of 2027. This is not a pause — it is a strategic pivot toward building infrastructure that will connect traditional finance with blockchain.
Kraken builds a bridge for Wall Street
Instead of spending effort preparing for a public offering, Payward is actively acquiring assets and launching tokenization. The key initiative is converting shares of the 100 largest companies on the London Stock Exchange into xStocks tokens with 1:1 backing. The program is already open to investors from more than 110 countries, although access remains closed to residents of the US and the UK. The volume of issued xStocks has reached $40 billion since June 2025, and the number of holders has exceeded 200,000. The LSE plans to launch trading in these instruments on its 24-hour platform LSE 24, once regulators give the green light.
In parallel, in March, a similar agreement was signed with Nasdaq. Together with Payward, an interface is being developed that will allow tokenized shares to move between regulated venues and public blockchains. The launch is scheduled for the first half of 2027. And in April, Deutsche Börse acquired approximately 1.5% of Payward's shares for $200 million, further confirming that traditional exchange giants see Kraken not as a competitor, but as a key partner for integration.
Why the IPO delay makes sense
Financial metrics explain the caution. In November 2025, Payward raised $800 million at a valuation of $20 billion (the round was led by Jane Street and Citadel Securities), but by April, the deal valued the company at approximately $13.3 billion. Wall Street infrastructure was bought, but the market slashed the valuation by nearly a third over those months. Adjusted revenue in the second quarter grew 17% to $508 million, yet EBITDA collapsed 71% year-over-year to $23 million. Trading volume on the platform fell 18% to $310 billion.
Even in a frozen market, Payward continues its expansion. In May, the acquisition of derivatives venue Bitnomial was completed, giving the company a full suite of regulated derivatives products in the US, which it plans to lease out. "The industry is consolidating around us. We built this company precisely to grow as fast as possible in such conditions," said Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi. The company's documents do not even mention a listing — infrastructure for "other people's" markets comes first.
My take: This strategy looks far more forward-thinking than a hasty exchange listing. Payward is building not just an exchange, but a bridge between two worlds. If they manage to become the standard for tokenized assets, the $13 billion valuation will seem laughable in a year. The only question is who will pay for this infrastructure — investors or users through fees. We will not know the answer until 2027.