Kraken's IPO push reveals a $6.7 billion valuation drop
SS
Sloane Sterling
Kraken · Apr 17, 2026
Source: DojiDoji Data Terminal
Investors in Kraken's upcoming public offering will face a company valued at $6.7 billion less than its peak. This valuation is based on a $200 million secondary transaction where Deutsche Börse acquired a 1.5% fully diluted stake in Payward, Inc., Kraken's parent company. The deal implies a current market value of $13.3 billion.
This figure represents a 33% decline from the $20 billion valuation Kraken achieved in November 2025, when it raised $800 million from institutional investors including Citadel Securities, Jane Street, and Apollo Global Management. The IPO effort had stalled in March after bitcoin dropped roughly 40% from its October peak, souring investor sentiment.
Payward submitted a confidential draft Form S-1 with the Séc on Nov. 19, 2025. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi confirmed on April 14, 2026, that the IPO filing remains active. The company reported $2.2 billion in adjusted revenue for 2025.
To transition into a broader financial platform, Kraken acquired NinjaTrader and Small Exchange and secured a master account with the Federal Reserve’s Kansas City branch for direct dollar settlement via Fedwire. It has also partnered with Nasdaq to develop infrastructure for tokenized stocks and ETFs.
Payward will be required to make its S-1 registration statement public a few weeks before its initial public offering.
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