Payward, the private company behind Kraken, reported $508 million in adjusted revenue in the second quarter of 2026, up 17% from a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA was $23 million. The company published its Q2 financial highlights on August 14, presenting the quarter as one of continued revenue growth and expansion across trading, equities, tokenized assets and financial services.
The underlying figures, however, show a more mixed quarter. Adjusted EBITDA fell 71% year-over-year to $23 million, based on the Q2 2025 comparison shown in Payward’s results materials. The company itself does not state that percentage change in the written letter, instead describing the quarter as remaining “Adjusted EBITDA positive.”
That distinction matters because Payward’s revenue and account metrics continued to improve even as profitability weakened sharply.
Revenue Grows as Trading Volume Falls
Payward’s adjusted revenue increased 17% year-over-year to $508 million in Q2. At the same time, total platform transaction volume fell 18% to $310 billion, reflecting weaker spot activity across the broader crypto market.
The company said the decline in spot activity was partly offset by growth in traditional futures, equities and tokenized equities. Futures DARTs, or Daily Average Revenue Trades, increased 8% year-over-year, while Payward said it gained spot market share for the third consecutive quarter. The combination points to a changing revenue mix rather than a simple decline in activity across the platform.
Profitability Tells a Different Story
The biggest weakness in the quarter was adjusted EBITDA. Payward reported $23 million in adjusted EBITDA, but the prior-period figures shown in its results materials indicate that the measure was substantially higher a year earlier, translating into a 71% year-over-year decline.
Payward’s written commentary did not characterize the result as a year-over-year decline. Instead, Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the company remained adjusted EBITDA positive and had aligned its cost structure with market conditions while continuing to invest in its highest-priority growth initiatives.
Adjusted EBITDA is a company-defined, non-GAAP measure, so it should not be treated as equivalent to net income or a standard accounting measure of profit.
The divergence between revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA therefore provides a more complete picture of the quarter: Payward grew its top line while generating substantially less adjusted EBITDA than a year earlier.
Revenue Mix Continues to Shift
Payward’s results also show that its business is becoming less dependent on trading fees. Asset-Based and Other Revenue accounted for 60% of total revenue in Q2, up from 55% a year earlier. The category includes revenue associated with assets and services rather than traditional trading fees.
That shift is central to Payward’s broader strategy. The company said clients are increasingly using multiple markets and products through the same platform, while its product expansion now spans crypto, equities, tokenized assets, payments, custody and other financial services.
The company said the strategy is designed to allow revenue from balances and services to continue growing when trading volumes moderate. That is management’s stated strategic rationale, rather than an independently established outcome.
Funded Accounts and Client Assets Rise
Payward ended the quarter with 6.6 million funded accounts, up 42% year-over-year. The company said growth was particularly strong in the European Economic Area following its authorization under the EU’s MiCA framework, alongside expansion in earlier-stage markets.
Assets on Platform stood at $40 billion at the end of Q2. Payward also reported $65 billion in “Real Assets on Platform,” up 48% year-over-year. The company calculates that figure by holding asset prices constant at Q2 2025 levels to isolate client inflows from market-price movements, while excluding assets that declined more than 99% from the baseline.
Because this is a company-defined methodology rather than a standard industry metric, the $65 billion figure should be understood within Payward’s stated methodology rather than as a conventional assets-under-management figure.
Payward Expands Beyond Crypto Trading
The quarter also brought several product and regulatory developments as Payward continues to build a broader financial platform. The company said it launched CFTC-regulated spot margin for US retail clients and CFTC-regulated perpetual futures for US traders, using infrastructure from its Bitnomial acquisition. It also launched pre-IPO perpetual futures on SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic for eligible clients outside the US.
On the banking and asset-management side, Payward expanded its Flexline crypto-backed credit product, added real-world assets to qualified custody and introduced additional staking products.
The company also said it completed its acquisition of Reap, a stablecoin-focused payments and card-issuing platform, and agreed to acquire Magic Labs’ wallet infrastructure business. These developments support Payward’s stated strategy of operating across trading, banking, asset management and financial infrastructure rather than relying solely on crypto transaction fees.
Regulatory Expansion Continues
Payward said it received preliminary approval from Dubai’s VARA for a broker-dealer, investment and management license and secured VASP registrations in the British Virgin Islands. It also filed an application for a national trust company charter with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The company said its latest quarterly Proof of Reserves was completed as of June 30 and validated by third-party accounting firm The Network Firm. Payward says the process allows clients to verify that their assets are backed onchain.
A Proof of Reserves review should not, however, be treated as equivalent to a full financial-statement audit.
The Bigger Picture
Payward’s Q2 results present a mixed but clearly defined picture. Revenue increased 17%, funded accounts climbed 42%, and the company continued shifting its revenue mix toward asset-based and service revenue. At the same time, total transaction volume declined 18% and adjusted EBITDA fell 71% year-over-year to $23 million.
That makes profitability the key counterweight to the company’s expansion story. Payward is growing its product footprint and customer base, but the latest quarter shows that higher revenue has not translated into higher adjusted EBITDA.
The company is betting that a broader mix of trading, assets, payments, custody and financial infrastructure will make its revenue base more resilient across market cycles. Whether that strategy ultimately produces stronger profitability remains an open question.
The Bottom Line
Payward’s Q2 results show stronger revenue and account growth alongside a sharp decline in adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted revenue rose 17% to $508 million, while adjusted EBITDA fell 71% year-over-year to $23 million. Transaction volume also declined 18% to $310 billion as crypto spot activity weakened.
At the same time, the company continued expanding into equities, tokenized assets, payments, custody and regulated derivatives, with Asset-Based and Other Revenue reaching 60% of total revenue.
The quarter therefore does not fit neatly into either a growth or slowdown narrative: Payward is expanding its platform and diversifying its revenue base, but its latest figures also show materially weaker adjusted profitability. This report makes no prediction about Payward’s future financial performance and is not investment advice.
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