Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, reported $507 million in adjusted first-quarter revenue. The firm expanded its presence in tokenized equities, regulated US derivatives, and stablecoin payments through key acquisitions and new product launches.
Futures trading activity rose 51% year-over-year, while assets on platform increased 11% to $40 billion. Funded accounts grew 47% to 6.1 million. Payward’s xStocks platform now offers 100 tokenized equities, with plans to exceed 500 by the end of 2026.
During the quarter, Payward completed acquisitions of tokenization company Backed, token management platform Magna, and derivatives exchange Bitnomial. The company separately announced a deal to acquire stablecoin payments firm Reap for up to $600 million in cash and stock.
Payward expanded its tokenized equities business through xStocks partnerships with Nasdaq and Deutsche Börse’s 360X platform. The company also launched a B2B platform offering fiat-to-crypto onramps, token launch infrastructure, and derivatives access via a single API.
The earnings come as crypto companies cut jobs amid weaker trading activity and growing AI adoption. Kraken recently cut about 150 employees, a move that could delay its planned US public listing until 2027.
Coinbase cut 700 employees earlier this month, while Dune laid off 25% of its workforce. Crypto-related companies have eliminated more than 5,000 jobs so far this year.
