Kraken parent Payward cuts 150 staff, streamlining business ahead of planned IPOThe crypto exchange is also seeking fresh funding at a $20 billion valuation as it ramps up acquisitions and prepares for a public listing.Updated May 15, 2026, 4:54 p.m. Published May 15, 2026, 2:12 p.m. 2 min readMake preferred on Payward, the parent company of crypto platform Kraken is cutting 150 jobs. according to two people with knowledge of the matter.The cuts are said be part of an optimization process ahead of the crypto firm's planned public listing, one of the people said, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private.Kraken employs around 3,000 people in total."We don't comment on specific personnel or operational decisions. As a high performance culture, we continually evaluate and evolve our organization to ensure we have the right structure and talent in place to optimize growth and deliver for our clients," a Kraken spokesperson said in emailed comments.Payward confidentially filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 19, taking an initial step toward a potential public listing.CoinDesk reported in March that the company had paused its IPO plans due to weak market conditions. Sources said the firm still intends to pursue a listing once conditions become more favorable.At Consensus Miami, Payward and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the exchange is “80% ready” to go public.Payward is also raising fresh capital at a $20 billion valuation ahead of its public listing, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The latest fundraising round comes as the company accelerates its acquisition strategy.It recently acquired stablecoin payments firm Reap for $600 million and digital asset derivatives platform Bitnomial for $550 million as it scales ahead of its public listing.Its largest acquisition came in 2025 with the $1.5 billion purchase of NinjaTrader, a U.S.-based retail futures platform and CFTC-registered futures commission merchant. Read more: Kraken parent Payward seeks fresh funding at $20 billion valuation ahead of planned IPOMore For YouDeFi insurance protocols debuted with huge ambitions during the 2020 crypto boom. But as hacks evolved and users chased yields over protection, most of the sector collapsed under the same risks it was built to cover.What to know: Despite billions of dollars flowing through DeFi, less than 2% of total value locked is insured, leaving most users exposed to mounting hacks and exploits.Early DeFi insurance efforts faltered as attackers shifted from smart contract bugs to harder-to-price offchain risks like private key compromises and phishing, which now account...Read full story