Kraken parent Payward revenue rises 17% as trading volume falls in Q2 — SkimNews
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- Payward reported $508 million in adjusted Q2 revenue, up 17% year over year, even as total transaction volume fell 13% to $310 billion.
- Funded accounts surged 42% to 6.6 million, indicating growing user engagement independent of trading activity.
- Asset-based and other revenue rose to 60% of total revenue (up from 55% a year earlier), shrinking Payward's reliance on transaction fees.
- Payward stayed adjusted EBITDA positive at $23 million while gaining spot crypto market share for a third consecutive quarter.
- Growth in traditional futures, equities, and tokenized equities helped offset weaker crypto spot trading as the company expanded beyond pure crypto.
- Payward broadened its infrastructure via acquisitions of NinjaTrader (May 2025), regulated derivatives exchange Bitnomial, and its announced deal to acquire Magic Labs' wallet infrastructure business.
Why it matters: Payward's 60% non-transaction revenue mix—up from 55%—shows the Kraken parent is decoupling from crypto trading cyclicality, with 6.6 million funded accounts (up 42%) anchoring a more diversified earnings base. The strategy is paying off in a quarter when transaction volume dropped 13%, proving the equities and tokenized-stock expansion is already meaningful at the revenue line.
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