Kraken Parent Company Cuts 150 Staff To Streamline $20b Ipo Path

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange @krakenfx, has cut around 150 jobs as part of a restructuring drive ahead of a planned public listing. The move is the latest in a series of workforce reductions tied to the firm's push toward US public markets.

Leaner Structure, Bigger Ambitions

In a statement, a Kraken spokesperson framed the cuts as routine optimization: "As a high performance culture, we continually evaluate and evolve our organization to ensure we have the right structure and talent in place to optimize growth and deliver for our clients." The latest round follows an earlier wave of reductions. The restructuring began in late 2024 with the dismissal of around 400 employees, roughly 15% of its workforce, following the appointment of co-CEO Arjun Sethi. According to Reuters, the layoffs are part of a broader effort to streamline operations and improve earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization. This process reportedly began with the appointment of Sethi and has continued in the months since.

Payward confidentially filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on November 19, taking an initial step toward a potential public listing. CoinDesk reported in March that the company had paused its IPO plans due to weak market conditions, though sources said the firm still intends to pursue a listing once conditions become more favorable. At the Consensus conference in Miami, co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the exchange is "80% ready" to go public.

Fresh Capital and an M&A Push

Payward is also raising new capital at a $20 billion valuation, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Most recently, it bought stablecoin-focused payments firm Reap for $600 million and digital asset derivatives platform Bitnomial for $550 million as it continues to scale up ahead of a planned IPO. Those deals follow Kraken's acquisition of NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, announced in early 2025, which gave the exchange a significant foothold in US derivatives markets.

The $20 billion number is not without complication. In April, German exchange operator Deutsche Boerse bought a 1.5% fully diluted stake in Payward for $200 million, a secondary transaction that implied a valuation closer to $13.3 billion. The gap reflects the broader difficulty of pricing crypto infrastructure companies during periods of uneven market sentiment.

Payward's acquisition strategy, expanding from spot trading into derivatives, payments, custody, and tokenization infrastructure, is aimed at building the kind of diversified, recurring revenue base that public-market investors prefer. Whether the current round of restructuring and dealmaking is enough to satisfy those investors will become clearer when Payward eventually makes its market debut.

Sources:
CoinDesk: Kraken Owner Payward Trims Workforce Ahead of Potential IPO
CoinDesk: Kraken Parent Payward Seeks Fresh Funding at $20 Billion Valuation
CoinDesk: Payward Puts IPO Plans on Hold