Payward Q3 EBITDA falls 66% as trading volume declines

Payward, the parent company of Kraken, reported $60 million in adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2026, a roughly 66% decline from $178.6 million a year earlier but an increase from $23 million in the second quarter. The company’s financial update, published November 13, showed trading activity remained below last year’s level even as several measures improved sequentially.

Payward reported Total Platform Margin of $487 million, up 12% from the second quarter and down 12% year over year. The company has replaced adjusted revenue with this measure, which deducts the cost of cryptocurrency delivered to clients and staking rewards paid to them.

Total platform transaction volume was $353 billion, up 22% from the second quarter but down 30% from the third quarter of 2025. Payward said its share of industry spot volume reached 6.5% in September, compared with 3.3% a year earlier. The company’s update also put funded accounts at 7.1 million, up 37% year over year, and billable accounts at 1.5 million, up 74%.

Payward said asset and access-based income together accounted for 52% of Total Platform Margin, compared with 46% a year earlier. Derivatives activity also increased:...