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Payward, the Wyoming-based parent of Kraken, has spent billions on acquisitions including NinjaTrader and Bitnomial, and is close to buying a European bank, as it pivots from crypto exchange operator to unified financial infrastructure provider. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi says the firm is profitable and in no rush to IPO.
Payward, the Wyoming-based parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has spent billions of dollars over the past two years acquiring futures brokerages, derivatives infrastructure and banking capabilities in a bid to become unified financial infrastructure spanning trading, banking and asset management, according to a CoinDesk interview with co-CEO Arjun Sethi published September 26. The firm is also “about to buy a bank in Europe,” Sethi said, and is profitable with no urgency to pursue an IPO as it builds out the platform.
The strategy centers on what Sethi calls “one ledger” — shared infrastructure allowing money and assets to move between products without the layers of intermediaries behind most of traditional finance. Payward has organized the business into four pillars: trading through Kraken, banking, asset management, and Payward Services, its business-to-business infrastructure division. Kraken Financial, a Wyoming-chartered special-purpose depository institution, forms part of the stack.
Sethi described the parent as an operating platform rather than a conglomerate. “We’re not a holding company,” he told CoinDesk. “It’s one platform, one balance sheet, one regulatory stack.” Kraken serves roughly 6.6 million funded accounts holding between $40 billion and $50 billion in assets, according to Sethi, across more than 190 countries and territories. The company is layering on cards, lending, derivatives, tokenized equities and products that let customers borrow against assets or deploy them in decentralized-finance applications.
Payward’s dealmaking follows a build-buy-partner framework. It paid $1.5 billion for NinjaTrader to establish a U.S. futures brokerage with existing technology and regulatory permissions, followed by a $550 million acquisition of Bitnomial, adding a regulated exchange, clearinghouse and futures brokerage. Sethi said the company has no shopping list and does not broadly solicit banker pitches, instead using a quantitative framework to assess whether a target fills an infrastructure gap. Separately, Nasdaq agreed in September 2026 to invest $100 million in Payward while expanding collaboration on Nasdaq Equity Tokens and market surveillance, with the tokens expected to launch in the second quarter of 2027.
Infrastructure Ambition vs. Exchange Scale
Payward’s approach differs from its largest competitors, and that distinction is the strategic bet. Investment bank Architect Partners said Coinbase is building an “Everything Exchange” concentrating products under one brand, while Payward is building infrastructure that can support multiple brands and be used by outside financial companies. “Payward appears to be choosing a different aggregation layer: the regulated infrastructure stack that can power financial products across multiple brands, customer segments, and partner channels,” Architect Partners said, adding that Payward is helping define an “Everything Financial Infrastructure” model.
Scale remains a challenge. CoinGecko data cited in the report show Kraken averaged about $1.1 billion in daily spot trading in the first four months of 2026, while Binance controlled 38.7% of top-10 centralized-exchange spot volume in the second quarter and Coinbase reported an 8.6% share of overall crypto trading volume in the first quarter. If the infrastructure strategy works, Payward’s relevance would depend less on exchange market share and more on powering products for other institutions — a shift that could reshape how it competes with both crypto natives and traditional finance firms.
From Crypto Exchange to Four-Pillar Platform
: “Kraken spent most of its 15-year history as a crypto exchange. Over the past two years, Payward accelerated a diversification push: the NinjaTrader and Bitnomial acquisitions added regulated U.S. futures and derivatives capabilities, the company pushed into tokenized stocks, and it pursued banking capabilities in both the U.S. and Europe. Bloomberg reported in July 2026 that Payward was planning to buy a Lithuanian bank as part of its continental expansion, though Sethi did not confirm the target.
The underlying thesis, as Sethi described it, is that legacy finance remains constrained by decades-old conventions: securities take time to settle, markets close overnight and on weekends, and banks, brokers, custodians and clearing houses keep separate records that require reconciliation. In his view, blockchain systems allow assets to function simultaneously as investments, collateral and programmable instruments on shared infrastructure — the premise behind the “one ledger” architecture.
“We’re not a holding company. It’s one platform, one balance sheet, one regulatory stack.”
— Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken
Unconfirmed Bank Target and Execution Risk
Several elements of the strategy remain unconfirmed or unresolved. Sethi did not disclose the identity of the European bank Payward is “about to buy”; Bloomberg’s July report pointing to a Lithuanian bank has not been confirmed by the company. The report does not specify the total amount Payward has spent across all its acquisitions, beyond the disclosed NinjaTrader and Bitnomial figures, nor does it detail current revenue or profitability figures beyond Sethi’s statement that the firm is profitable.
It is also unclear how quickly the four-pillar platform can generate meaningful revenue outside the core exchange business, and whether outside financial companies will adopt Payward’s infrastructure at scale. The Nasdaq Equity Tokens launch is not expected until the second quarter of 2027, leaving more than half a year before that partnership produces a live product. Regulatory outcomes for tokenized equities and banking activities in both the U.S. and Europe remain outside the company’s control.
European Bank Deal and 2027 Token Launch
The most immediate milestone is the expected completion of the European bank acquisition, which would extend Payward’s banking capabilities on the continent. Beyond that, the Nasdaq Equity Tokens are slated to launch in the second quarter of 2027, with Payward providing distribution, trading and post-trade infrastructure, alongside expanded market-surveillance cooperation with Nasdaq.
Sethi indicated the company will continue applying its quantitative build-buy-partner framework to future deals, and said Payward is in no rush to pursue an IPO while it expands the platform. Observers of the sector will be watching for signs that Payward Services, the B2B infrastructure division, signs external financial-institution clients — the clearest test of whether the “Everything Financial Infrastructure” thesis can move from strategy to revenue.
Key Questions
What is Payward’s relationship to Kraken?
Payward is the Wyoming-based parent company of Kraken. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi describes it not as a holding company but as one platform with one balance sheet and one regulatory stack, spanning trading, banking, asset management and B2B infrastructure.
How much has Payward spent on acquisitions?
Disclosed deals include $1.5 billion for NinjaTrader and $550 million for Bitnomial. CoinDesk reported Payward has spent billions overall, and Sethi said the firm is about to buy a bank in Europe, without naming the target or price.
How does Payward’s strategy differ from Coinbase’s?
According to Architect Partners, Coinbase is building an “Everything Exchange” with products concentrated under one brand, while Payward is building regulated infrastructure that can power products across multiple brands and be used by outside financial companies.
Is Payward planning an IPO?
Sethi told CoinDesk the company is profitable and in no rush to pursue an IPO as it expands its platform. No timeline for a public listing was given.
How large is Kraken compared to competitors?
CoinGecko data show Kraken averaged about $1.1 billion in daily spot trading in the first four months of 2026, well below Binance’s 38.7% share of top-10 exchange spot volume in Q2 and Coinbase’s 8.6% share of overall crypto trading volume in Q1.
Source: rss
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