Kraken’s Q2 Profits Take a Hit – Here’s Why the Crypto Giant Is Feeling the Squeeze

Kraken’s latest earnings report reveals a sobering truth: even crypto titans aren’t immune to market cycles. While the exchange remains a powerhouse, its Q2 profits dipped compared to last year’s bull-run highs—proof that volatility cuts both ways.

The Numbers Don’t Lie (But They Do Disappoint)

No sugarcoating here—Kraken’s bottom line took a haircut. The slump mirrors broader industry headwinds, from regulatory gray zones to traders sidelined by ‘wait-and-see’ fatigue. Yet insiders whisper this could be a strategic cooldown before the next rally.

Crypto Winter or Strategic Thaw?

While traditional finance pundits gleefully declare ‘I told you so,’ Kraken’s long-game bets—like institutional custody and layer-2 solutions—hint at a playbook deeper than quarterly hiccups. After all, since when do crypto natives sweat short-term spreadsheets?

One hedge fund manager quipped, ‘Exchanges counting profits in fiat? How quaint.’ Touché.

Kraken is expanding its asset offerings 

The results reflect the company’s ongoing transition from a crypto-only platform to a full-fledged multi-asset trading ecosystem.  Kraken says it’s “in build mode” as it explores beyond crypto. The company explained that it is on track to develop a multi-asset platform incorporating crypto, stocks, and tokenized assets. Its stated mission now is to provide universal access to trading—any asset, at any time, in any place.

It introduced new products and expanded its infrastructure in Q2, including enabling US equities trading on its app. It followed up with 24/7 FX perpetual futures in April and xStocks in June, tokenized blue-chip stocks and ETFs. The company also noted it improved product deployment speed and platform performance with focused marketing initiatives that yielded high and cost-effective ROI.

The quarterly performance, however, is down from Q1, slipping 13% revenue from $478 million to $412 million in Q2. Trading volumes also slowed from the first quarter of the year; however, the exchange still posted a 19% year-over-year increase in Q2 2025, with total volume reaching $186.8 billion. 

Furthermore, the exchange saw its assets rise sharply by 47% to $43.2 billion, while the number of funded accounts grew to 4.4 million, up 37%. Its market share in stablecoin-to-fiat pairs improved markedly, rising from 43% to 68%. However, its adjusted EBITDA tumbled 57% in Q2 to $80 million, compared to $187 million in Q1. 

Kraken is reportedly looking to secure $500 million in funding at a $15 billion valuation, ahead of a potential 2026 IPO.

Bybit and Robinhood also introduced tokenized equities

Kraken is not the only exchange venturing into tokenized equities. Kraken and Bybit, in collaboration with Backed Finance, have launched more than 60 tokenized equities on the xStocks platform. These assets are natively embedded within the solana DeFi environment, allowing trading and liquidity provisioning.

Coinbase has also shown interest in tokenized equities since 2018, and recently applied for the SEC to approve. The company’s chief law officer, Paul Grewal, has described tokenized equities as “the future of finance, and a huge priority” for them.

As of June, Robinhood also began offering tokenized versions of over 200 U.S. stocks and ETFs on the Arbitrum blockchain for its European customers. Additionally, eToro disclosed plans to tokenize the top 100 U.S. equities and ETFs as ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum.

Moreover, Gemini unveiled tokenized stock trading on Arbitrum for European users, and 60 of Backed’s xStocks launched on Solana.

Still, some critics contend that the tokenized equities available through xStocks and Robinhood don’t offer the same rights or protections as genuine share ownership. Nonetheless, each xStocks token from Backed is supported 1:1 by a Special Purpose Vehicle in Liechtenstein, meaning the underlying assets should remain secure even if exchanges like Kraken or Bybit were to fail.

Still, Alan Keegan, the DeFi portfolio manager at M31 Capital, believes there’s much that needs to be done for these tokens: “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.” 

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