TL;DR:
Payward, the parent company of Kraken, published its results for the first quarter of 2026 with adjusted revenues of $507 million, an increase of 3% compared to the same period of the previous year. The results stand out from the industry, given the adverse market conditions that hit a large portion of crypto companies hard during the first three months of the year.
Bitcoin fell 22% in the quarter, total crypto market capitalization retreated 23% and global spot volume plummeted 38%. Against that backdrop, trading platforms competing with Kraken, such as Coinbase and Robinhood, reported declines in trading revenues, affected by lower retail activity and weaker prices.
Revenue diversification was the factor that set Payward apart from the rest. Futures DARTs —daily average revenue trades— grew 51% year-over-year, driven by NinjaTrader, Breakout and an expanded derivatives offering. Total transaction volume on the platform reached $357 billion for the quarter, though the company acknowledged that market conditions weighed on overall activity.
Adjusted EBITDA came in at $18 million, below the figure recorded a year earlier. The decline reflects a deliberate decision to continue investing in acquisitions, product development and regulatory infrastructure rather than prioritizing immediate profitability. “Where others pulled back, we leaned in,” stated Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi.
Among its most recent acquisitions, Payward highlighted the addition of tokenization platform Backed, token lifecycle management firm Magna, derivatives exchange Bitnomial and payments company Reap, all aimed at diversifying revenue streams beyond cryptocurrency trading.
Kraken increased its spot market share to 5.2% in March, up from approximately 3.5% recorded in mid-2025, suggesting the platform is taking ground from its competitors even during the market slowdown.
