Kraken's parent company Payward reported a 71% year-on-year drop in pre-tax profit to $23 million in the second quarter.

According to Bloomberg, Payward Inc., parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, reported an adjusted pretax profit of $23 million in the second quarter, down 71% year-over-year from $79.7 million in the same period last year. Adjusted revenue rose 17% YoY to $508 million, while total platform trading volume reached $310 billion, an 18% YoY decline. Payward said the number of funded accounts grew 42% YoY to 6.6 million in Q2, hitting an all-time high. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi noted that as spot trading volumes in the crypto industry fell, Kraken’s traditional futures, equities and tokenized equities businesses all grew, with the firm’s spot market share rising for three consecutive quarters. Against the backdrop of slowing crypto market trading activity, multiple exchanges are expanding into derivatives and real-world asset-related trading. Payward laid off roughly 150 employees earlier this year, adding that AI technology adoption has improved operational efficiency. Bloomberg previously reported that Payward’s highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) could occur as early as later this year, or may be delayed until early 2027.