Payward Unveils Ambitious Expansion Plan for Regulated Infrastructure

Payward has made significant strides in expanding its financial infrastructure beyond Kraken through regulated derivatives, tokenized equities, payments, banking services, and technology offered to other financial companies. The company's revenue mix has become less dependent on trading fees, with $508 million in second-quarter adjusted revenue representing a 17% increase from the previous year period.

Nasdaq agreed to invest $100 million in Payward while expanding work on tokenized equity infrastructure. Payward's acquisition of Bitnomial added regulated exchange, clearing, and futures brokerage infrastructure in America. The company has also announced plans to offer perpetual futures using Hyperliquid's HIP-3 infrastructure, subject to regulatory approval.

The London Stock Exchange plans to list Payward-backed xStocks on its planned LSE 24 venue during 2027. Payward Services combines trading, custody, liquidity, funding, payments, compliance, risk management, and settlement capabilities through shared integrations. At least 25 companies are developing products using the infrastructure.