Crypto exchange Kraken’s parent company, Payward, recorded strong financial growth in 2025, driven by higher transaction volumes and a series of strategic acquisitions that expanded its product lineup.
Payward’s revenue climbed 33% year-on-year to $2.2 billion, up from $1.6 billion in 2024, according to a report released Tuesday. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi attributed the increase to solid performance across both trading and asset-based services, as total transaction volumes rose 34% to $2 trillion over the year.
Today, we’re announcing Payward’s FY 2025 financial results—and alongside them, a clearer articulation of Payward’s role as the unified infrastructure layer powering Kraken and a growing family of products, including @NinjaTrader, @breakoutprop , @xStocksFi, and future products… pic.twitter.com/qbLgG2AI3d
— Kraken (@krakenfx) February 3, 2026
Sethi noted that the company’s income stream is now more diversified, with trading-related activities accounting for 47% of revenue, while asset-based and other services contributed the remaining 53%. The update comes as market participants keep a close eye on Kraken’s potential public listing, following Payward’s confidential filing for an initial public offering in November.
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Acquisitions drive revenue diversification
Payward’s acquisition strategy played a key role in boosting performance in 2025. The company snapped up several platforms, including futures trading firm NinjaTrader, proprietary trading company Breakout, derivatives marketplace Small Exchange, and trading automation provider Capitalise.ai.
According to Sethi, these deals, particularly NinjaTrader and Breakout, helped lift daily average revenue trades by 119%. More recently, Kraken acquired Backed, a tokenized stocks firm behind the widely used xStocks platform, further expanding its reach into real-world asset tokenization.
Sethi said Payward has drawn inspiration from major tech firms like Amazon and Meta by separating its products to better serve different customer segments, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.
Growing user base and long-term focus
Beyond revenue growth, Payward reported steady expansion across key metrics. Assets held on the platform increased 11% to $48.2 billion, while the number of funded accounts jumped 50% to 5.7 million.
Looking ahead, Sethi emphasized that Payward is prioritizing sustainable, long-term growth over short-term gains. “Our focus isn’t on maximizing a single metric,” he said, adding that the company aims to improve efficiency and scale across multiple asset classes and regions within a unified system.
Payward is moving deeper into traditional finance
In March 2026, Kraken Financial became the first U.S.-based digital-asset firm to receive a limited-purpose Federal Reserve master account, giving it direct access to core payment infrastructure such as Fedwire. The initial account was approved for one year, with services being introduced gradually beginning with institutional clients.
This moves Kraken closer to the traditional financial system rather than leaving it dependent entirely on intermediary banks.
Payward has also partnered with Nasdaq to develop tokenization infrastructure, targeting blockchain-based financial products and potentially 24-hour trading for tokenized equities.
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