%201.webp)
Payward has been named to CNBC's World's Top Fintech Companies 2026 list, compiled with research firm Statista.
The recognition places the group, which sits behind products including Kraken, among more than 2,000 fintech companies assessed across categories including payments, neobanking, wealth technology, digital assets, insurtech and regtech.
CNBC and Statista said the list draws on publicly available information, including annual reports, company websites and media monitoring. The process covers businesses ranging from early-stage start-ups to established financial institutions.
Founded in 2011, Kraken began as a cryptocurrency exchange. The business has since been reorganised under the Payward name as a broader financial infrastructure group, with products spanning trading, custody, indices, tokenised equities, equity derivatives and proprietary trading.
That portfolio includes Kraken's spot and derivatives trading, staking, custody and institutional services, alongside xStocks, Krak, CF Benchmarks, NinjaTrader and Breakout. Recent acquisitions added businesses in derivatives, payments and token operations, according to the company.
Broader Structure
Payward has positioned itself as the parent platform for these brands through a corporate structure introduced less than a year ago. The group says the model is built around a shared architecture used across its products.
According to the company, that structure includes a single liquidity pool, one risk and margin engine, one collateral and settlement system, and one compliance and licensing framework. It says this approach allows it to serve different customer groups and regulatory markets through separate product lines built on the same underlying platform.
The recognition comes as digital asset companies seek broader roles in financial services beyond cryptocurrency trading. Several firms in the sector have expanded into payments, derivatives, custody and market infrastructure in an effort to diversify revenue and appeal to institutional clients.
For Payward, the listing also reflects its effort to present itself as more than the operator of Kraken, one of the best-known crypto trading venues. By bringing a range of acquired and internally developed products under one parent identity, the group is seeking to define itself as a broader financial technology business.
Arjun Sethi, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Payward, described that shift in comments accompanying the announcement.
"We started as an exchange in 2011. What we're building now is the infrastructure that underpins an open, global financial system. Payward encompasses one liquidity pool, one risk and margin engine, one compliance framework that lets people hold, trade, earn, pay, and invest across asset classes without friction," said Arjun Sethi, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Payward.
He also linked the recognition to the company's view of where the sector is moving.
"Recognition like this isn't about being on a list; it's a signal that the market and mainstream media see where the future of finance is heading. Our focus is the same as it's always been: getting the foundation right so it scales for the clients and innovative use cases that come next," Sethi said.
Payward said the list recognises companies shaping financial technology worldwide. Its inclusion marks an early milestone for a group identity that is still relatively new, even though the underlying Kraken business has operated for more than a decade.
The company's current structure separates underlying infrastructure from the products presented to end users. In practice, that means different brands can target different customer segments, use cases and regulatory settings while relying on the same internal systems.
The model has become more common across financial technology as firms try to balance expansion with tighter control over risk, compliance and operations. For businesses emerging from the cryptocurrency sector, it also offers a way to connect digital asset services with more conventional financial products under a single operating framework.
Payward says its platform is designed to let customers hold, trade, earn, pay and invest across asset classes through that shared infrastructure base.