Kraken Parent Payward Cuts 150 Jobs and Begins Organizational Efficiency Drive Targeting Late 2026 IPO

Payward Inc. has cut 150 jobs to streamline operations as it accelerates its entry into public markets. Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, made this decision between May 14 and 15, 2026, a move interpreted as an effort to strengthen financial discipline for its listing after moving away from a phase of rapid expansion.

The job cuts come as the company pursues a new $800 million funding round targeting a $20 billion valuation. Through this, Payward is reorganizing the company and laying the groundwork to successfully complete its initial public offering (IPO) scheduled for late 2026.

Payward defined the move as 'strategic streamlining' rather than a simple downsizing. As announced since April, the company is focusing on consolidating teams where redundancies occur and improving its operational structure, an essential process to achieve the high level of efficiency required for a public company.

We are making the difficult decision to eliminate some roles and consolidate teams in areas where redundancies exist, while simultaneously continuing to hire in core areas. — Kraken Spokesperson

The layoffs are part of a financial optimization to justify a $20 billion valuation to investors. Payward was valued at $15 billion in a funding round at the end of 2025, but is seeking to increase its valuation by more than 25% through this additional $800 million raise.

2026 Roadmap for Entering the Public Market

Kraken's listing schedule has been adjusted in line with market conditions and the pace of internal reorganization. Following the submission of a confidential listing application in March 2026, the listing timing, originally expected for the first quarter, is now taking shape for the second half of 2026, and the company is using this period as an opportunity for mergers and acquisitions and organizational restructuring.

• End of 2025: Completed $500 million funding based on a $15 billion valuation
• March 2026: $800 million funding targeting a $20 billion valuation and confidential IPO filing
• May 2026: Implementation of a 150-person workforce reduction for operational efficiency

The reduction of 150 staff members does not imply a company-wide hiring freeze. Payward emphasized that while streamlining redundant roles, it is aggressively continuing to recruit core talent for expanding institutional investor services and building new product lineups.

In particular, expansion into the tokenized stocks market is one of Payward's key growth drivers for 2026. The company plans to maximize market share before listing by reallocating the capital freed up through the layoffs into technology development and strategic mergers and acquisitions.

2026 Exchange Competitive Landscape and Kraken's Position

In 2026, the virtual asset market is seeing an accelerated integration with institutional finance due to changes in the regulatory environment. In this environment, Kraken is focusing on strengthening the liquidity of Euro (EUR) and Pound (GBP) trading pairs—a strength in the European market—to differentiate itself from competitors such as Coinbase and Binance.

Additionally, Kraken is expanding its influence in the B2B sector, such as by increasing institutional investors' access to digital asset funds through a recent partnership with Crypto Insights Group. These moves are evaluated as positive signals for a company that must prove a stable revenue structure after listing.

Ultimately, this reduction of 150 staff members is a process of "structural improvement" that must be undergone before facing the strict standards of the public market. The S-1 filing that Payward will release at the end of 2026 is expected to reflect more robust financial metrics and operational efficiency achieved through this restructuring.