tl;dr
Kraken reported an 18% revenue increase to $411.6 million in Q2 but saw adjusted earnings fall 7% to $79.7 million due to U.S. tariffs and macroeconomic challenges. The exchange is expanding beyond crypto to a multi-asset platform, adding US equities trading, 24/7 FX futures, and tokenized stocks (x...
Kraken, the well-established cryptocurrency exchange, experienced a decline in Q2 profits despite reporting higher revenue. The company posted $411.6 million in revenue for the quarter, marking an 18% increase from Q2 2024. However, adjusted earnings decreased by 7% year-over-year to $79.7 million from $85.5 million. Kraken attributed the profit drop to U.S. tariffs and wider macroeconomic challenges.
The exchange is actively expanding its asset offerings as part of a broader transformation from a crypto-only platform to a comprehensive multi-asset trading ecosystem. Currently, Kraken describes itself as being “in build mode,” working towards a platform that integrates crypto, stocks, and tokenized assets. Its mission is to provide universal access to trading any asset, anytime, anywhere. During Q2, Kraken introduced new products and enhanced its infrastructure, including US equities trading on its app, 24/7 FX perpetual futures launched in April, and xStocks in June offering tokenized blue-chip stocks and ETFs. The firm also improved product rollout speed and platform performance, supported by targeted marketing efforts that delivered strong and cost-effective returns.
Despite these advances, Q2 results represented a decline from Q1, with revenue slipping 13% from $478 million to $412 million. Trading volumes also slowed compared to the first quarter, though Kraken still recorded a 19% year-over-year growth in Q2 2025, reaching a total volume of $186.8 billion. Assets under management surged 47% to $43.2 billion, while funded accounts rose 37% to 4.4 million. Additionally, Kraken’s market share in stablecoin-to-fiat pairs climbed sharply from 43% to 68%. Yet, adjusted EBITDA experienced a steep 57% drop to $80 million from $187 million in Q1. In preparation for a possible 2026 IPO, Kraken is reportedly seeking $500 million in funding at a $15 billion valuation.
Kraken is not alone in embracing tokenized equities. Alongside Bybit and Backed Finance, it has launched more than 60 tokenized equities on the xStocks platform, embedded within the Solana DeFi ecosystem, enabling both trading and liquidity provision. Coinbase has pursued SEC approval for tokenized equities since 2018, with its chief legal officer calling them “the future of finance.” Robinhood has also started offering tokenized versions of over 200 U.S. stocks and ETFs on the Arbitrum blockchain for European users. Similarly, eToro plans to tokenize the top 100 U.S. equities and ETFs as ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum, while Gemini unveiled tokenized stock trading on Arbitrum for European customers. Backed’s xStocks platform has released 60 tokenized assets on Solana.
Despite this momentum, some critics argue that tokenized equities from platforms like xStocks and Robinhood lack the full rights and protections of traditional share ownership. However, each xStocks token issued by Backed is 1:1 backed by a Special Purpose Vehicle in Liechtenstein, securing the underlying assets even if exchanges like Kraken or Bybit fail. Still, Alan Keegan, DeFi portfolio manager at M31 Capital, points out ongoing challenges: “There are regulatory questions and legal infrastructure to be built to get to a place where an onchain transaction of a security actually represents a transfer of that security.”