The move comes after Kraken’s valuation reached $20 billion following an $800 million funding round.
Payward, the parent company behind U.S. centralized crypto exchange Kraken, took its first formal step toward going public. In a Nov. 19 press release, the Wyoming-based firm said it confidentially filed a draft S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a planned IPO.
The size and pricing of the deal weren’t disclosed, with Payward saying it will decide once regulators finish reviewing the filing and market conditions settle.
Kraken’s New $20B Valution
The IPO move comes just a day after Kraken announced it had raised $800 million across two funding tranches.
The main round included backing from Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital, HSG, and others, along with a “significant commitment” from Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi’s family office, though specific figures weren’t disclosed.
A second $200 million investment came from Citadel Securities, and was agreed at a $20 billion valuation.
Kraken says it has demonstrated “sustained profitability,” generating $1.5 billion in revenue in 2024 and topping that figure in the first nine months of 2025. With the proceeds, Kraken wants to scale global operations and expand its product suite, both “organically and through targeted acquisitions.”
Kraken is the second-largest U.S. based CEX after Coinbase, with $1.4 billion in trading volumes in the past 24 hours, per CoinGecko data.
