Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, is reportedly pushing its IPO plans further into the future, with the earliest potential listing now expected in the second quarter of 2027.
Two people familiar with the matter told CoinDesk that Payward does not currently expect to pursue an initial public offering before Q2 2027.
The reported timeline would keep the company private for at least another year after it put its multibillion-dollar IPO plans on hold in March 2026.
Payward declined to comment on the reported schedule.
Payward pushes IPO timeline into 2027
The new timeframe provides a clearer indication of how long Payward could remain on the sidelines of the public markets.
The company froze its IPO preparations in March as the crypto industry faced pressure from weaker prices, reduced trading activity and softer valuations.
The latest report suggests that Payward does not intend to reopen the listing process in the immediate future.
For a crypto exchange operator, timing can be particularly important. Trading activity directly affects transaction-driven business, while cryptocurrency prices and valuations across the sector can influence how investors assess a potential listing.
That makes the IPO decision more complicated than simply determining whether the company is ready to go public.
Payward already has a confidential S-1 on file
Payward had already taken a significant step toward a potential public offering before postponing its plans.
On November 19, 2025, the company announced that it had confidentially submitted a draft Form S-1 registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
A confidential submission allows a company to begin the SEC registration process without immediately publishing the complete filing.
Payward also made clear at the time that any eventual offering would depend on regulatory review and market conditions.
The filing therefore represented preparation for a possible IPO rather than a commitment to a specific listing date.
$800 million funding round valued Payward at $20 billion
The IPO delay comes despite Payward having attracted substantial private-market financing.
According to CoinDesk’s report, the company raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation. Citadel Securities contributed $200 million of the funding through a strategic investment.
That valuation provides an important reference point for Payward’s current private-market standing.
It does not, however, guarantee that the company would receive the same valuation in a public offering. Public-market pricing depends on factors including investor demand, financial performance, broader market conditions and the valuation of comparable companies.
The decision to postpone an IPO highlights that distinction: raising money privately and going public are two very different capital-market decisions.
Payward’s Q1 trading environment weakened
Payward’s own first-quarter figures provide additional context for the delay.
The company reported $507 million in adjusted revenue for Q1 2026, representing a 3% increase from the same period a year earlier.
Trading activity moved in the opposite direction.
Total platform transaction volume fell to $357 billion during the quarter.
Payward also pointed to substantial weakness across the wider crypto market:
- Bitcoin declined 22% during the quarter.
- Total cryptocurrency market capitalization fell 23%.
- Industry spot trading volume dropped 38%.
For an exchange business, those trends matter. Lower market activity can reduce the volume of transactions taking place across the platform, even when other parts of the business continue to grow.
Why the IPO timing matters
The reported 2027 timeline should not be interpreted as proof that one specific financial metric forced Payward to delay its listing.
Instead, the available information points to a broader market-timing decision.
Payward has already demonstrated that it can raise substantial private capital, has begun the SEC registration process and continues to operate a major cryptocurrency exchange through Kraken.
The question is whether current market conditions provide the right environment to transfer that business into the public markets.
A private valuation of $20 billion creates expectations. Going public at a substantially different valuation could affect how investors interpret the company’s growth prospects and the health of the broader crypto market.
What happens next?
For now, Payward appears to have its IPO preparations running on a longer timetable.
The confidential S-1 submission remains an important milestone, but it does not establish when—or even guarantee that—the company will ultimately complete a public offering.
If the reported schedule holds, Q2 2027 would be the earliest expected window for a Payward IPO.
Until then, investors will likely continue watching Kraken’s trading performance, crypto-market activity and broader digital-asset valuations for signs that conditions are becoming more favorable for a public listing.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, investment, financial or other professional advice.