There will be 150 layoffs at Payward, the parent firm of Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange. This is as per two sources familiar with the situation. According to one of the sources, who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the subject, the layoffs are a part of the optimization process that would precede the crypto firm’s anticipated public offering. Approximately three thousand individuals work at Kraken.
A Kraken spokesperson said in emailed comments:
“We don’t comment on specific personnel or operational decisions. 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.”
All Eyes on IPO
On November 19, Payward took the first step toward a possible public listing by filing a preliminary S-1 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a confidential manner.
The business reportedly put its initial public offering (IPO) preparations on hold in March as a result of the market’s weakness. When circumstances improve, the business will still seek a listing, according to sources. The co-CEO of Kraken and Payward, Arjun Sethi, said at Consensus Miami that the exchange is “80% ready” to go public.
Two sources familiar with the situation said that Payward is also valuing itself at $20 billion as it prepares to go public. The acquisition plan is being expedited with the recent investment round.
As it prepares to go public, it has been expanding via acquisitions like Bitnomial, a platform for digital asset derivatives, and Reap, a stablecoin payments startup, which it bought for $550 million and $600 million, respectively.
In 2025, it paid $1.5 billion to acquire NinjaTrader, a retail futures platform and futures commission merchant licensed with the CFTC, located in the United States. This was its biggest acquisition to that point.