Kraken Parent Payward Posts $60M Q3 EBITDA, Up 163% on Quarter but Down 67% on Year

Diversification Carries More of the Load

Payward is increasingly relying on businesses outside crypto trading to support its financial performance as weaker market activity weighs on transaction fees. Its expanding financial services operations are now a larger part of the story than they were in earlier quarters, though the letter does not split out their contribution to margin.

The company added more than 200 tokenized stocks from UK and European markets this week, including FTSE 100 and DAX 40 listings, bringing its xStocks ecosystem to more than 1,500 assets. It reports over $1.1 billion in assets under management and cumulative transaction volume above $45 billion for that product.

Two US-facing products, tokenized equities and onchain perpetual futures, still require regulatory approval and are not yet live for American customers. In October Payward agreed to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish parent of Lithuania-licensed Saldo Bank, a deal expected to close in 2027 pending regulatory approval. It also secured full approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority in October. The company said it intends to enter prediction markets and eventually launch a proprietary token, but gave no timeline or tokenomics for either.

Customer Growth as a Counterweight

Funded accounts, which hold a positive balance, rose 37% from a year earlier to 7.1 million. Growth in funded accounts alongside falling volume suggests that many users are holding balances without actively trading, though the letter does not break down account behavior further.

Cost Cuts and the IPO Outlook

Earlier in 2026 Payward cut about 150 staff in a restructuring, which it attributed to efficiencies from AI implementations. Talk of a public listing by the end of 2026 has circulated for some time. Bloomberg reported in September that the offering could be postponed until at least the second quarter of 2027, and the sources reviewed for this article describe the timing as likely to slip into 2027.

What to Watch

The next readings are whether Q4 extends the sequential profit recovery, whether trading volume stabilizes, and whether US regulators clear the tokenized equity and perpetuals launches. The Saldo acquisition also has to close. The answers will shape both investor sentiment and the timing of any listing.

Why It Matters

For Traders

Sequential profit recovery and steady funded-account growth point to stabilization, but volume is still down 30% year over year and US product launches remain unapproved.

For Investors

The 67% annual EBITDA decline shows continued exposure to trading cycles, while the push into tokenized assets and European banking could reduce that dependence over time.

For Builders

Tokenized equity and onchain perpetual products still await US regulatory clearance, so integrations targeting those venues should plan around uncertain launch dates.