stable coins
By Julie Binoche
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IPO Filed, Then Frozen. In November 2025, Payward filed a confidential S-1 registration with the SEC.
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Buying NinjaTrader and Reap Technologies. While the IPO sits in a holding pattern, Payward keeps buying things.
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Payward is shrinking its headcount. The Kraken parent confirmed it's cutting 150 jobs — roughly 5% of a global team that stands at about 3,000 people — as it tries to clean up…
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The layoffs aren't really a surprise if you've been watching the company. Back in October 2024, Payward cut around 400 positions, which was about 15% of its workforce at the time.
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In November 2025, Payward filed a confidential S-1 registration with the SEC. The target valuation: nearly $20 billion.
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Payward pulled back from its IPO timeline after investor enthusiasm cooled. The culprit, probably, was the underwhelming performance of other recent crypto listings.
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The 80% figure is interesting on its own. It's specific enough to signal real progress, but vague enough to give the company room to maneuver.
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While the IPO sits in a holding pattern, Payward keeps buying things. The company acquired NinjaTrader to beef up its derivatives capabilities and picked up Reap Technologies to…
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More context: Strategy Eyes $1.5B Note Buyback, May Sell BTC to Cover the Bill
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Derivatives and stablecoin payments are two of the fastest-moving corners of the broader digital asset space right now.
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NinjaTrader brings a trading platform with an established user base in futures and derivatives. Reap Technologies adds infrastructure on the payments side.
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And that story matters for the IPO pitch. Traditional finance investors — the ones who helped anchor that $800 million round — want to see diversified revenue and a product suite…
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The workforce cuts, read alongside the acquisitions, kind of tell you where Payward's priorities sit. It's not trying to be the biggest team.
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Related: Strategy Hits $28B STRC Cap, Scrambles for New Bitcoin Funding as Delphi Sounds Alarm
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Payward's next move on the IPO front probably depends a lot on how the next wave of crypto company listings performs. If those go well, sentiment shifts.
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