The world's largest exchange groups are moving their shares to blockchain via Kraken's infrastructure. At the same time, Payward itself, the parent company of the trading platform, is in no hurry to go public: the new target is the second quarter of 2027.
Payward filed a confidential IPO application in November 2025, but the process was paused in March 2026. As my market observations show, the company is deliberately shifting its focus from a public listing to developing institutional infrastructure—and this is a strategically sound move in the current phase of the cycle.
Kraken builds infrastructure for Wall Street
The key step is the tokenization of the 100 largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Their shares are being converted into xStocks—tokens with 1:1 backing. The program is available to investors from more than 110 countries, but access for UK and US residents remains closed for now.
LSE plans to launch trading in these instruments on its 24-hour platform, LSE 24, after receiving regulatory approvals. Since June 2025, xStocks volume has reached $40 billion, and the number of holders has exceeded 200,000—impressive momentum for such a young product.
In March, Nasdaq signed a similar agreement. Together with Payward, an interface is being developed to move tokenized shares between regulated venues and public blockchains. The launch is scheduled for the first half of 2027.
In April, Deutsche Börse acquired about 1.5% of Payward for $200 million. It seems European exchange giants see Kraken not just as a crypto exchange, but as a key technology partner for the bridge between TradFi and DeFi.
Why Kraken's delayed IPO makes sense
In November 2025, Payward raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation—the round was led by Jane Street and Citadel Securities. But the April deal already valued the company at around $13.3 billion. Wall Street infrastructure was bought, yet over these months the market cut the valuation by nearly a third.
The caution is also explained by operational results. In the second quarter, adjusted revenue grew 17% to $508 million. However, EBITDA plunged 71% year-over-year to $23 million. Trading volume on the platform fell 18% to $310 billion.
Even in a stalled market, Payward continued to acquire assets. In May, the company closed a deal for the derivatives venue Bitnomial and assembled a full suite of regulated derivatives in the US—this stack is now planned to be leased 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 listing is not mentioned in the document. Infrastructure is being launched first for "other" markets. Whether the cost will remain on investors' shoulders or be built into transaction fees remains unclear.
My assessment: Payward is deliberately sacrificing a near-term stock exchange listing for long-term positioning as the primary tokenization bridge between traditional exchanges and the crypto ecosystem. If the partnerships with LSE, Nasdaq, and Deutsche Börse develop as planned, by 2027 the company's valuation could significantly exceed November's $20 billion—and then the IPO would become not a necessity, but a triumphant debut.