Payward Cuts 150 Jobs Ahead of Delayed Kraken IPO

Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, is cutting 150 jobs-about 5% of its roughly 3,000-person global workforce-as it looks to lower costs while its planned U.S. initial public offering remains paused following a confidential SEC filing.

The cuts continue a multi-stage reduction that began in October 2024, when Payward eliminated about 400 positions, roughly 15% of staff. Additional reductions occurred in early 2025 as overlapping teams were merged.

Payward filed a confidential S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2025 seeking a valuation near $20 billion. Management paused the listing timeline in March 2026 after weak results from recent crypto listings reduced investor demand.

Co-CEO Arjun Sethi has described the company as roughly 80% ready to go public, indicating the S-1 filing remains active despite the delay.

At the time of the SEC filing, Payward closed an $800 million funding round that established the $20 billion valuation and included secondary investments from traditional finance partners.

The company has continued to grow by acquisition, including purchases of NinjaTrader to expand derivatives capabilities and Reap Technologies to support stablecoin payments.

A Payward spokesperson declined to discuss individual staffing decisions and said the firm regularly evaluates its structure to align talent with strategic priorities. The company said it is hiring in selected areas such as derivatives, payments and tokenized assets while reducing headcount elsewhere.

Workforce reductions have been common among crypto firms preparing to list as companies tighten costs and focus on profitability metrics that public investors review. Whether Payward returns to the IPO market this year will depend in part on how upcoming crypto exchange and token-related listings perform.