Payward, the parent organization of Kraken, saw its slice of worldwide crypto spot trading nearly double to 6.5% during September, up from 3.3% in the previous year, even though softer trading conditions impacted its financial earnings.
This growth in market share indicates that Payward secured a greater portion of spot transactions compared to rival platforms, rather than pointing to an overall surge in trading volume across its systems. The firm processed $353 billion worth of transactions throughout the third quarter, marking a 30% decline compared to the same period last year, according to the financial data made public on Friday.
These two metrics evaluate distinct factors. While market share measures its percentage of global spot trading across its platforms in September relative to the prior year, Payward’s quarterly transaction volume encompasses activity spanning multiple offerings, including spot markets, margin trading, equities, payments, and select derivatives.
Adjusted EBITDA dropped to $60 million, down from $178.6 million recorded a year prior. Total platform margin contracted by 12% to reach $487 million. Payward implemented this particular metric during the current quarter to substitute adjusted revenue, incorporating a subtraction for customer staking payouts.
Acquisitions expand Payward beyond spot trading
Over the past two years, Payward has worked to grow past its foundational cryptocurrency exchange operations by executing buyouts within the derivatives, proprietary trading, tokenized assets, and payment sectors. The objective behind this strategy is to diversify income streams away from transaction fees, which tend to fluctuate alongside market movements.
Its purchases involve futures broker NinjaTrader alongside proprietary trading firm Breakout in 2025, which was followed by the buyout of the regulated United States derivatives marketplace Bitnomial in May 2026. The enterprise additionally ventured into stablecoin-based payments through its acquisition of Reap during July.
Such entities contributed to a more diversified combination of trading and service operations during the third quarter. The quantity of derivative contracts subject to Payward’s per-contract fee grew by 84% to hit 66 million. Meanwhile, margins originating from subscriptions, trader assessments, and alternative paid offerings climbed 59% to total $125 million.
Breakout, which bills traders for evaluations that can grant them access to funded trading profiles, was factored in for the entire quarter following its integration in September 2025. The July purchase of Reap incorporated a stablecoin payment and card-issuing enterprise. The corporation did not specify the exact financial contribution each acquisition provided to the quarter.
Related: Kraken parent Payward acquires Magic Labs’ wallet business
Earnings recover from second-quarter lows
Financial outcomes showed improvement over second-quarter figures, despite staying beneath levels seen a year earlier. Total transaction volume advanced 22%, whereas overall platform margin grew 12% to $487 million compared to $436 million.
This upward movement was not solely propelled by trading activity. Margins generated from assets maintained by clients across Payward’s infrastructure, which includes staking-related services, increased by 26% to reach $128 million. That sector represented approximately half of the $51 million quarterly expansion in total platform margin.
Adjusted EBITDA advanced to $60 million from $23 million, while its proportion relative to overall platform margin climbed from 5% to 12%. When compared to the previous year, however, adjusted EBITDA registered a 66% drop, highlighting the ongoing strain on profitability despite larger contributions coming from services less dependent on direct trading activity. Asset- and access-oriented services made up 52% of the aggregate platform margin, rising from 46% during the preceding year.
This structural change could prove significant for a prospective public offering. Payward submitted a confidential filing for an initial public offering in the United States back in November 2025, though it suspended those plans in March amid deteriorating market conditions. By the time September arrived, the earliest prospective window for a listing under consideration pointed to the second quarter of 2027.
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Originally published at https://cointelegraph.com/news/kraken-parent-payward-gains-market-share-slower-trading-earnings?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound.
