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A listing timeline that keeps sliding
Payward confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2025, a process that lets a company begin the regulator's review without immediately publishing its financial statements. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi confirmed the filing at an industry conference in April, describing regulatory trust and long-term planning as more important motivations than access to public capital.
Expectations for a wave of crypto IPOs had built after Circle Internet Group and Bullish completed public listings in 2025. Several digital asset companies began preparing offerings of their own, but weaker prices and disappointing share performance at newly listed firms cooled investor appetite. Grayscale, Consensys and Ledger all shelved their listing plans, and BitGo, the only crypto-native company to list during 2026, was trading 36% below its January IPO price at the time of the report.
An IPO in Q2 2027 would still depend on SEC review, market conditions and Payward's final decision. Because the filing remains confidential, the company has not disclosed a proposed price, ticker, exchange or number of shares.
$20 billion valuation anchors private funding
Shortly before submitting the draft S-1, Payward completed an $800 million financing package across two tranches at a $20 billion valuation. Citadel Securities contributed $200 million through a strategic investment, and the round supported work in regulated derivatives, tokenized financial products and international markets.
The company's financial results show why management can afford to wait. Second-quarter adjusted revenue reached $508 million, up 17% year over year, while funded accounts climbed 42% to 6.6 million and assets on the platform hit $40 billion. Asset-based and other revenue accounted for 60% of the total, a sign that newer business lines are reducing dependence on spot crypto trading.
Trading figures painted a less rosy picture. Platform transaction volume fell 13% to $310 billion, and adjusted EBITDA dropped to $23 million after spending on acquisitions, product development and regulatory infrastructure. The company also trimmed about 150 employees in May, roughly 5% of its staff, as part of a cost restructuring.
Acquisitions build a regulated U.S. business
While the listing sits on hold, Payward has spent aggressively to diversify. It acquired NinjaTrader, a U.S. retail futures platform, for $1.5 billion in 2025, and bought Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange, for $550 million. Bitnomial gives the company a fully regulated route for offering derivatives to American customers, and discussions have reportedly advanced to bring Hyperliquid-linked perpetual futures to the U.S. through the platform.
In tokenized equities, Payward acquired Backed Finance, the issuer behind Kraken's xStocks products, gaining control over the infrastructure used to offer blockchain-based representations of stocks and ETFs. The company also agreed in May to acquire Hong Kong-based payments firm Reap Technologies for $600 million in cash and stock at the same $20 billion share valuation, adding stablecoin-based cross-border payment services.
The strategy echoes moves by other institutions building tokenization infrastructure, including the London Stock Exchange's partnership with Kraken to tokenize U.K. stocks. For investors, the delayed IPO means the next major crypto listing may arrive only after the market demonstrates a sustained recovery, with Payward positioned to debut as a diversified financial platform rather than a pure exchange.
