Kraken Parent Payward Reports $507M Q1 Revenue Amid Tokenization Push

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, reported $507 million in adjusted first-quarter revenue as it expanded its presence in tokenized equities, regulated US derivatives and stablecoin payments through acquisitions and new products.

The company said futures trading activity rose 51% year-over-year, while assets on platform increased 11% to $40 billion and funded accounts grew 47% to 6.1 million. Payward also said its xStocks platform reached 100 tokenized equities and plans to expand to more than 500 by the end of 2026.

Payward completed acquisitions of tokenization company Backed, token management platform Magna and derivatives exchange Bitnomial during the quarter, while separately announcing a deal to acquire stablecoin payments company Reap for up to $600 million in cash and stock.

Payward said Bitnomial’s licenses issued by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission would support regulated US crypto derivatives trading, while Reap’s infrastructure is expected to expand stablecoin-based card and payments services across Asia, the Americas and Europe.

The company also expanded its tokenized equities business through xStocks partnerships with Nasdaq and Deutsche Börse’s 360X platform, while launching a business-to-business platform offering fiat-to-crypto onramps, token launch infrastructure and derivatives access through a single API.

Source: Payward

Crypto companies make cuts as AI adoption grows

The update comes as crypto companies cut jobs amid weaker trading activity and increased use of artificial intelligence tools across the industry.

Bloomberg reported Friday that Kraken recently cut about 150 employees as the company expanded its internal use of AI. The report said the layoffs could delay Kraken’s planned US public listing until 2027.

Last week, Dune, a blockchain analytics and onchain data platform, said it fired 25% of its workforce as part of a restructuring focused on its core products. CEO Fredrik Haga said the company remains “well capitalized” and is increasing its focus on AI and institutional crypto adoption.

Earlier this month, Coinbase said it would cut about 700 employees, or about 14% of its workforce, as the company reorganizes around smaller teams and wider use of AI tools.

Crypto-related companies have cut more than 5,000 jobs so far this year, with financial technology company Block announcing one of the sector’s biggest reductions in February, cutting about 4,000 employees.