Kraken parent Payward's Q1 revenue climbs despite crypto market slump

Kraken's parent Payward reported first-quarter adjusted revenue of $507 million, up 3% from a year earlier, as the crypto infrastructure and trading firm expanded beyond spot crypto trading during a weaker market environment, the company said in a press release Monday.

The Wyoming-based firm said growth in futures trading and newer business lines helped offset softer activity in its core crypto markets business.

Futures DARTs, or daily average revenue trades, rose 51% year-over-year, driven by NinjaTrader, Breakout and expanded derivatives offerings.

Total platform transaction volume reached $357 billion in the quarter, though Payward said broader market conditions weighed on activity. Bitcoin BTC$77,056.40 fell 22% during the quarter, while total crypto market capitalization declined 23% and industry-wide spot trading volume dropped 38%.

Firms heavily dependent on crypto trading revenue have struggled in recent months as the market downturn reduced investor risk appetite, leading to lower trading volumes, weaker liquidity and a sharp decline in retail activity across digital-asset platforms.

Despite a weaker first quarter for rival crypto trading firms such as Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD), which both reported declines in trading revenue amid softer retail activity and lower crypto prices, Kraken parent Payward delivered relatively resilient results, suggesting the exchange benefited from its stronger institutional business and growing derivatives offering even as broader market volumes slowed.

Adjusted EBITDA came in at $18 million, down from a year earlier, as the company continued investing in acquisitions, product development and regulatory infrastructure rather than prioritizing near-term profitability.

“Where others pulled back, we leaned in,” Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in the release.

Payward highlighted several recent acquisitions aimed at diversifying revenue streams beyond crypto trading, including tokenization platform Backed, token lifecycle management firm Magna, derivatives exchange Bitnomial and payments company Reap.