Payward's $20 Billion Valuation Sees Company Expand Beyond Crypto Trading

Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, is gearing up for a significant fundraising effort with a valuation of $20 billion. This move marks an expansion of the company's services beyond spot token trading into areas such as derivatives, payments, and stablecoin-related rails.

In recent months, Payward has made several strategic acquisitions to strengthen its platform. The company acquired Reap Technologies, a stablecoin-native card-issuing and payments infrastructure provider, for up to $600 million in cash and stock. Additionally, it signed an agreement to acquire Bitnomial, a crypto-native exchange, for up to $550 million.

Payward's expansion plans also involve the acquisition of NinjaTrader and Backed, further solidifying its presence in the cryptocurrency market. The company had previously filed a confidential S-1 draft with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission but put its IPO on hold due to unfavorable market conditions. However, co-CEO Arjun Sethi stated during Consensus Miami that Kraken was '80% ready' for an IPO, indicating that it remains committed to going public in the future.