Kraken's parent company, Payward, announced that its adjusted earnings for the third quarter decreased by 67% year-on-year, due to weakened cryptocurrency trading activities, although there was a rebound compared to the previous quarter.

According to a shareholder letter reviewed by Bloomberg News on November 13, Payward's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the third quarter were $60 million, compared to approximately $182 million in the same period last year.

The financial indicator of "total platform profit margin" used by the company has replaced the previous adjusted revenue measurement. This indicator decreased by 12% year-on-year to $487 million. Transaction activity has significantly weakened, with the total platform transaction volume falling by 30% to $353 billion.

Despite the year-on-year decline, Payward indicates that performance has improved compared to the second quarter, when the adjusted EBITDA was significantly lower. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, revenue has increased by 163%, and the total platform profit margin has increased by 12%.

Customer growth remained positive this quarter. The number of funded accounts, that is, customer accounts with a balance higher than zero, increased by 37% year-on-year, reaching 7.1 million.

Kraken Trading operations are under pressure due to the weak crypto market

As the third-quarter results are announced, cryptocurrency exchanges are still dealing with lower trading activity amidst market volatility.

Bitcoin rose by about 40% from mid-August to early October, before then giving back some of those gains. Recently, Bitcoin fell below $70,000 due to concerns about inflation, higher bond yields, and the impact of the U.S. mid-term elections, which dampened investor sentiment.

Lower trading volumes have affected exchanges that rely heavily on transaction fees, but the financial impact varies from company to company.

Coinbase announced a 35% year-on-year decline in revenue for the third quarter, but managed to return to profitability. Meanwhile, Gemini Space Station saw a 19% decrease in revenue, although its loss narrowed compared to the same period last year.

Payward has been working hard to reduce its dependence on traditional cryptocurrency trading through acquisitions and new financial products.

Payward Expanding Tokenized Stocks and Banking Services

One of the most important areas for company expansion is tokenized stocks, and Kraken continues to add traditional financial assets to its blockchain-based trading infrastructure.

Earlier this week, Payward launched over 200 tokenized stocks from the UK and European markets, including companies listed on the FTSE 100 index and Germany's DAX DAX index.

The company stated that this expansion has brought the number of assets in its xStocks ecosystem to over 1,500, with an asset management scale exceeding $1.1 billion and a cumulative trading volume of over $45 billion.

Its banking business layout is also being advanced. In October, Payward agreed to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, which is a Finnish company and also the parent company of the Lithuanian licensed bank Saldo Bank.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in 2027 and still requires regulatory approval. Once the transaction is finalized, Payward will gain the opportunity to conduct banking services in multiple European markets, including deposit accounts, loan services, and payment cards.

In the Middle East, Payward received full regulatory approval from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority in October. Kraken plans to launch cryptocurrency trading and other financial services in the United Arab Emirates, including support for local currency deposits and withdrawals.

Kraken Considering Own Tokens and Prediction Markets

In addition to the existing expansion plans, Payward disclosed in the shareholder letter that the company intends to enter the forecasting market in the future and launch its own tokens.

The company has not provided any additional information regarding a timeline, token economics, or how these two plans will be implemented.

Kraken is still preparing to offer on-chain perpetual futures to US customers, but regulatory approval is required. The proposed product will expand its derivatives business beyond traditional cryptocurrency trading.

The long-awaited listing plan of the company remains another unfinished item.

As previously reported in September, due to disruptions in the market environment that affected earlier plans, Payward may postpone its initial public offering (IPO) until at least the second quarter of 2027.

Payward secretly submitted a registration draft for IPO to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2025, and raised $800 million in financing with a valuation of $20 billion.

The company laid off around 150 employees earlier this year, citing that the application of artificial intelligence in its operations had led to improved efficiency.