Payward Q2 revenue up 17% to $508M despite 18% volume drop. Asset-based income hit 60% of revenue. Europe led account growth. Kraken plans BTC/ETH options in 2026.
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Payward, the parent company of Kraken, reported $508 million in adjusted revenue for the second quarter of 2026, up 17% from a year earlier. The growth came even as total platform transaction volume fell 18% to $310 billion.
The company attributed the decline in volume to weaker spot crypto activity, which was partly offset by increases in stock and tokenized stock trading. Revenue rose because Kraken now generates income from more than just trading fees. Asset-based and other revenue – including custody, staking, and related services – accounted for 60% of total revenue in Q2, up from 55% in the same period last year, Payward said.
Platform assets stood at $40 billion at the end of the quarter. Real assets, which exclude crypto equivalents, jumped 48% year over year to $65 billion. Funded accounts grew 42% to 6.6 million, with Europe posting the largest increase after Payward received authorization under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, or MiCA.
Adjusted EBITDA came in at $23 million, compared with $18 million in the first quarter of 2026. In Q1, Payward reported adjusted revenue of $507 million and platform volume of $357 billion. Funded accounts at that time stood at 6.1 million, up 47% year over year. The sequential revenue figure was nearly flat, while volume declined sharply.
Payward said its operations are built around four pillars: services, banking, trading, and asset management. Tokenization and artificial intelligence are central to the company's strategy. The firm holds more than 100 licenses and registrations worldwide, a key advantage over competitors.
Kraken also announced plans to bring its regulated Bitcoin and Ethereum options trading platform to qualified clients in Europe later in 2026. The platform allows clients to trade listed options on the two largest cryptocurrencies by market value.
The company's spot market share rose to 5.2% in March from about 3.5% in mid-2025, Payward said.
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