Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has paused its plans to go public due to unfavorable market conditions. The company had secretly filed for an IPO with the U.S. SEC in November last year but has decided to delay the process as the crypto market weakens following Bitcoin's peak. Payward's valuation and trading volumes have been under pressure, prompting the decision to wait for improved market conditions before proceeding. Previously, Payward raised $800 million at a valuation of approximately $20 billion, with Citadel Securities contributing $200 million to support blockchain integration in traditional financial markets. In contrast, 2025 saw at least 11 crypto companies, including Circle, Bullish, and Gemini, raise a total of $14.6 billion through IPOs. However, in 2026, only BitGo has successfully gone public, with its stock price declining by about 44%.