According to an informed source, Payward, the parent organization behind the digital asset exchange Kraken, is currently aiming for the second quarter of 2027 at the earliest to conduct its highly anticipated initial public offering.
This revised timeframe moves the prospective market debut further down the road, following CoinDesk’s earlier report in March indicating that the enterprise had frozen its public offering initiatives due to unfavorable market conditions.
In November 2025, Payward submitted a confidential draft registration statement to the SEC shortly after successfully securing an $800 million funding round at a $20 billion valuation.
Based on information from two individuals familiar with the subject, Payward—the operator of the U.S.-based cryptocurrency platform Kraken—has postponed its widely expected initial public offering into next year.
One insider, who requested anonymity because the details are private, stated that the Wyoming-headquartered company does not intend to launch its public debut until the second quarter of 2027 at the earliest.
This postponement prolongs an already extended wait for what stands as one of the digital asset sector’s most closely monitored public stock listings.
Back in March, CoinDesk disclosed that Payward had put its multibillion-dollar IPO plans on hold as adverse market dynamics negatively impacted digital asset values, trading activity, and overall valuations. At that time, insiders noted that the firm remained interested in going public but would likely wait until market environments strengthened.
A spokesperson representing Kraken chose not to issue any statements.
The postponement highlights a broader cooling trend for cryptocurrency public offerings. The sector had entered 2026 anticipating a surge of stock market debuts following the successful market entries of Circle (CRCL) and Bullish (BLSH)—owned by CoinDesk—during the previous year. Subdued digital asset prices and trading volumes, combined with the lackluster post-listing performance of certain newly introduced blockchain companies, have diminished investor enthusiasm. Consequently, several prominent organizations, such as asset manager Grayscale, Ethereum development entity Consensys, and hardware security wallet manufacturer Ledger, have chosen to push back their timelines.
In November 2025, Payward submitted a draft S-1 registration document to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission regarding a planned issuance of common equity.
That regulatory submission arrived shortly after the company acquired $800 million from backers at a valuation of $20 billion, which included a $200 million injection from Citadel Securities.
Ever since pausing the public offering initiative, Payward has kept expanding past its foundational digital asset exchange operations by introducing traditional and cryptocurrency derivatives, tokenized stocks, and payment infrastructure via a series of strategic acquisitions and product deployments.
During the second quarter, the enterprise posted adjusted revenues amounting to $508 million, representing a 17% increase compared to the previous year, while active funded user accounts grew by 42% to reach 6.6 million. Total assets held on the platform amounted to $40 billion.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/09/02/kraken-parent-payward-pushes-ipo-back-to-mid-2027-at-earliest.
