INSTITUTIONAL | Kraken Says its ‘80% Ready to Go Public’ as it Moves to Restructure Operations and Profile

Kraken parent company, Payward, has cut around 150 employees as the crypto exchange restructures operations and sharpens its financial profile ahead of a planned initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.

The layoffs, affecting roughly 5% of Payward’s estimated 3,000-person workforce, are part of what insiders described as an optimization effort as the company prepares for public markets after confidentially filing draft IPO paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in late 2025.

Kraken co-CEO, Arjun Sethi, said in early May 2026, during Consensus 2026 in Miami, that the exchange was ‘about 80% ready’ to go public, signaling that preparations for a listing are advanced despite volatile crypto market conditions.

The restructuring comes as Payward is also seeking fresh funding at a $20 billion valuation ahead of the planned IPO, according to reports citing people familiar with the matter.

The fundraising effort follows an aggressive expansion strategy by the company which recently agreed to acquire

• stablecoin payments firm, Reap Technologies, for about $600 million, and
• derivatives platform, Bitnomial, for $550 million, adding to its earlier
• $1.5 billion acquisition of futures trading platform, NinjaTrader.

A Payward spokesperson said the company ‘continuously evaluates and adjusts’ its organizational structure to align talent and resources with long-term strategic goals but declined to comment on specific personnel decisions.

Kraken has been among a wave of crypto firms exploring public listings as regulatory pressure in the United States eases and investor appetite for digital asset companies gradually returns. The company had previously delayed IPO ambitions amid tougher market conditions and regulatory uncertainty.

Stay tuned to BitKE updates on crypto market developments.

Join our WhatsApp channel here.

Follow us on X for the latest posts and updates

Join and interact with our Telegram community

________________________