Payward expands Kraken with $2B acquisition push
Payward has expanded its financial infrastructure strategy beyond Kraken through regulated derivatives, tokenized equities, payments, banking services and technology offered to other financial companies. Summary$508 million in second-quarter adjusted revenue represented a 17% increase from the previous year period.Nasdaq agreed to invest $100 million in Payward while expanding work on tokenized equity infrastructure.Paywards $550 million Bitnomial acquisition added regulated exchange, clearing and futures brokerage infrastructure in America.6.6 million funded accounts held $40 billion in assets on Payward platforms during the second quarter.London Stock Exchange plans to list Payward-backed xStocks on its planned LSE 24 venue during 2027. CoinDesk reported on Sept. 26 that co-CEO Arjun Sethi described Payward as one financial platform built around a shared infrastructure stack. Trading through Kraken forms one of four operating pillars alongside banking, asset management and Payward Services. The expansion comes as Paywards revenue mix becomes less dependent on trading fees. The company reported $508 million in adjusted revenue for the second quarter of 2026, up 17% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA reached $23 million. Total platform transaction volume fell 18% year over year to $310 billion as crypto spot activity weakened. Payward said traditional futures, equities and tokenized equities grew during the quarter. Futures daily average revenue









