Company Profile
| Parent Company | Payward, Inc. (legal entity operating Kraken) |
|---|---|
| Ownership | Private (planning IPO in 2026); major investors include Tribe Capital, Hummingbird Ventures, SBI Group, Jane Street, Citadel Securities, DRW Venture Capital |
| Headquarters | Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA (relocated 2025; previously San Francisco) |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Thanh Luu, Michael Gronager, Jesse Powell |
| CEO / Leadership | Co-CEOs: Dave Ripley, Arjun Sethi; Chairman: Jesse Powell |
| Employees | ~2,600 (as of Oct 2024) |
Funding and Valuation
| Funding | Series A (2014): $5M (Hummingbird Ventures, Bitcoin Opportunity Fund); Series B (2016): SBI Group; Special vehicle (2019): $13.5M (2,263 individuals); Recent (2025): $800M at $20B valuation (Jane Street, Citadel $200M, DRW VC, HSG, Oppenheimer, Tribe Capital) |
|---|---|
| Revenue / Valuation | $2.2B adjusted revenue (2025, +33% YoY); $20B valuation (2025 funding round); confidential IPO filing (2025) |
Licensing and Regulation
US (FinCEN) Europe: VASP in Ireland/Italy/... UK (FCA) Australia: AUSTRAC DCE, AFSL Canada: FINTRAC
US: FinCEN MSB, Wyoming SPDI bank charter (first for crypto exchange), Money Transmitter licenses in 40+ US states / Europe: VASP in Ireland/Italy/Spain/France/Poland/Belgium/Netherlands, MiFID (Cyprus), BaFin (Germany) / UK: FCA Cryptoasset Firm
Regulatory History
SEC staking settlement $30M (2023, ceased US staking)
SEC lawsuit dropped (2025)
CFTC $1.25M fine (2021)
OFAC $362k fine (2022)
Australia ASIC $5.1M fine (2024)
Operations closures: Japan (2018,2023), Abu Dhabi (2023)
NY exit (2015)
Security Track Record
- 2024 zero-day exploit by researcher: ~$3M stolen from treasury (funds recovered)
- No major client hacks
- Targeted but repelled social engineering attempts (2025)
| Proof of Reserves | Active quarterly PoR with 100%+ ratios (e.g., BTC 114.9% Mar 2025, Dec 2025); Merkle tree verified by 3rd party accountants, covers spot/margin/futures/staking |
|---|
Sister Brands
Acquisitions integrated: NinjaTrader (2025, $1.5B), Small Exchange (2025), Magna (2026)Others: Crypto Facilities, Staked, BCM (Coin Meester), Cryptowatch, Glidera, etc.
Key Events
2011
Founded
2013
Launch
2014
Mt. Gox aid
2020
WY SPDI charter
2021
Unicorn
2023
SEC settlement
2024
Co-CEO Sethi
2025
HQ to WY, NinjaTrader/Small Exchange acqs, $800M raise/$20B val, $2.2B rev, MiFID license, Fed master account (2026), IPO filing