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Payward revenue up, volume down
Payward, the parent company of Kraken, reported $508 million in adjusted revenue for the second quarter, up 17% year over year, even as total transaction volume fell 13% year over year to $310 billion.
“Payward reported $508 million in adjusted revenue for the second quarter”
The company said funded accounts increased 42% to 6.6 million and that it remained adjusted EBITDA positive at $23 million.
Payward attributed the results to growth in traditional futures, equities and tokenized equities that helped offset weaker crypto spot activity, and it said it gained spot market share for a third consecutive quarter.
In its earnings framing, Payward also pointed to expansion beyond spot crypto trading over the past year into equities, tokenized stocks, pre-IPO exposure and futures, alongside acquisitions including NinjaTrader in May 2025 and Bitnomial the following year.
Business Wire said the second-quarter results covered the second quarter ended June 30, 2026, and described the quarter as one where crypto spot volumes declined across the industry while traditional futures, equities and tokenized equities activity grew.
Revenue mix shifts to assets
Payward’s revenue composition shifted as asset-based and other revenue accounted for 60% of total revenue, up from 55% a year earlier, while the company said the growth was broad-based across its four business pillars.
FinanceFeeds reported that Payward cited a greater activity in the Espacio Económico Europeo after Payward’s authorization under the MiCA framework, and it tied the shift to a combination of transactions that increasingly included equities and tokenized stocks.
In the same quarter, Finance Magnates said Payward’s banking pillar included Flexline, a crypto-backed credit line for US clients in June, and it said Payward expanded its virtual IBAN product to 11 additional European markets during the quarter.
Business Wire said Payward launched Flexline in June and expanded Krak virtual IBANs and the 1% salary match to 11 additional European markets, while also adding real-world assets and SPL tokens to qualified custody.
The company also described its platform approach through a unified architecture, with Arjun Sethi saying, “Three forces are rearranging global markets: convergence across asset classes, the onshoring of activity into regulated venues, and the automation of market participation,” in Business Wire’s quote.
Profit pressure and IPO timing
While adjusted revenue rose 17% year over year, Bitcoin World reported that Payward’s adjusted pretax profit fell to $23 million, a 71% drop from the $79.7 million recorded in the same period last year.
“Adjusted pretax profit fell to $23 million, a 71% drop”
Bitcoin World said Payward attributed the profit compression to falling cryptocurrency prices and reduced trading volumes, which it said pressured margins across the industry.
Seeking Alpha framed the quarter as a mixed picture, saying Payward’s Q2 adjusted EBITDA increased 28% to $23M from the prior quarter but slid 71% from last year’s Q2 as the value of transactions on its platform declined.
On the strategic timeline, Bitcoin World reported that Payward may delay its previously discussed initial public offering (IPO) timeline to late this year or early next year, citing Bloomberg.
Business Wire, meanwhile, described licensing and regulatory steps including that Payward received preliminary approval from Dubai's VARA for a broker-dealer, investment and management license, secured VASP registration in the British Virgin Islands, and filed an application for an OCC national trust company charter in May.
