Major Crypto Exchange Reveals Its Billion-Dollar Plan: It’s About More Than Just Winning Customers!
Kraken’s parent company, Payward, aims to move beyond earning revenue solely from customers who trade on its exchange by opening up the infrastructure it has expanded through billion-dollar acquisitions to other financial companies.
In an interview with CoinDesk, Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi discussed the company’s plan to bring together its banking, trading, asset management and other services for companies on a shared infrastructure. According to Sethi, at least 25 companies are developing products using Payward’s infrastructure, and those products are expected to launch in 2026.
It wants to reach people who aren’t Kraken users, too
The most notable aspect of the plan is that end users won’t need to have a direct relationship with Kraken. Banks, fintech companies and brokerages will be able to use Payward’s custody, liquidity, payments, risk management and regulatory compliance services in products they offer under their own brands.
According to digital asset investment bank Architect Partners, this model could give Payward a distribution channel that doesn’t depend on drawing customers directly to Kraken. In other words, the company wants to grow not only through trades on its exchange but also through infrastructure used by other financial institutions. Hyperliquid is among the partners of Payward Services, the division that provides these services.
The goal behind the billion-dollar acquisitions
Payward’s past acquisitions make up parts of this strategy. The company acquired NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion to expand its futures brokerage infrastructure in the U.S.; it also struck a $550 million deal for Bitnomial. Sethi also said they were preparing to acquire a bank in Europe but did not disclose the name of the target bank.
Corporate partnerships also support the same plan. Nasdaq had agreed to invest $100 million in Payward this month. The tokenized stock products Nasdaq Equity Tokens that the two companies are working on are targeted to launch in the second quarter of 2027. Payward will provide the distribution, trading and post-trade infrastructure for the initiative.
Sethi also said the company does not depend on an IPO to fund its investments. In the second quarter of 2026, Payward reported $508 million in adjusted revenue, up 17% year over year.