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Kraken parent Payward reported a 66% annual decline in third-quarter adjusted earnings, although trading activity improved from the previous quarter. The company also announced plans to introduce prediction markets for US customers and a personal finance assistant powered by artificial intelligence.
Payward's November 13 financial update showed adjusted EBITDA of USD 60 million for the quarter ended September 30. That compared with approximately USD 178.6 million a year ago and USD 23 million in the second quarter.
Payward reported total platform margin of USD 487 million, a 12% decline from the same period last year. However, the figure rose 12% from USD 436 million in the second quarter. Its adjusted EBITDA margin reached 12%, compared with 5% in Q2.
The company introduced total platform margin to replace adjusted revenue in its financial reports. Unlike the previous measure, it also deducts staking rewards paid to customers. Payward groups the new measure into transaction, asset, and access-based income.
Transaction-based margin reached USD 234 million, while asset-based margin stood at USD 128 million. Access-based margin totaled USD 125 million, up 59% year over year. Together, asset and access income accounted for 52% of total platform margin, compared with 46% a year ago.
Payward uses adjusted EBITDA and total platform margin as non-GAAP financial measures. These figures differ from net income and revenue reported under standard accounting rules.
Transaction volume across Payward's businesses reached USD 353 billion, up 22% from Q2 but down 30% from the third quarter of 2025. The total covers cryptocurrency trading, equities, payments, and certain derivatives transactions.
Meanwhile, clients traded 66 million fee-based derivatives contracts, an 84% annual increase and a 10% quarterly rise. Payward said its share of industry spot trading volume reached 6.5% in September, compared with 3.3% a year before.
Funded accounts climbed to 7.1 million, a 37% annual increase, while billable accounts grew 74% to 1.5 million. Average assets held across Payward's platforms stood at USD 43 billion, down 21% year over year.
Payward has also expanded its equity products. As previously reported, xStocks recently added more than 200 tokenized UK and European equities. The company said the platform surpassed USD 1 billion in assets under management in October.
Payward listed prediction markets for US customers among its upcoming products but did not provide a launch date. The company stated, "Next come prediction markets for US clients," while also outlining plans for stock perpetual futures.
The futures products would operate through its regulated US exchange, clearinghouse, and broker, subject to regulatory approval. Payward has also proposed regulated perpetual futures using Hyperliquid infrastructure.
In banking, Payward intends to settle USD wires through its Federal Reserve master account, test a US credit card, and fund European lending using customer deposits. It also plans an onchain share offering service for private companies, subject to regulatory approval.
The company already offers Kraken AI in its US mobile app. Customers can use chat commands to buy, sell, convert, and stake assets while approving each transaction. Kraken Pro also provides an assistant and tools for building trading strategies.
Payward now plans a separate personal finance AI agent. Its statement says the agent will operate within customer-set limits and "require the client to approve a trade or a workflow before it runs." The company expects its first shared AI-agent framework for existing applications in early 2027.
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