Kraken co-CEO says Bitcoin may be exiting its mildest bear market

Kraken co-CEO Dave Ripley said on November 8 that Bitcoin may be emerging from its mildest bear market, citing its recovery above $80,000 and wider institutional use of open crypto networks.

In a Bitcoin Magazine interview, Ripley said the downturn had already occurred and Bitcoin was starting to emerge. He said Bitcoin's four-year cycle would place the asset in the middle of a bear market, but current market conditions feel different. A further pullback remains possible, he said, while he described the downturn as “the mildest in Bitcoin's history.”

What changed in banks' approach to crypto?

Ripley said financial institutions have changed how they approach the technology. In 2014–2015, banks and financial services companies sought to use blockchain while excluding Bitcoin, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on pilots that failed, according to him.

Banks, brokers and exchanges now embrace open crypto networks as they explore faster and cheaper financial services, he said. Stablecoins provide a leading example, having succeeded largely on permissionless blockchains that anyone can access.

He pointed to Hyperliquid's growth and said the use of crypto infrastructure was expanding into traditional asset classes, including tokenized equities. He attributes the progress to a return to the technology's original premise: an “open, programmable network for money and financial services.”

How is Payward broadening its business?

Ripley said Payward has built on its flagship crypto exchange, Kraken, by expanding:

• Asset coverage: foreign exchange, equities, and derivatives on commodities and indices.
• Services: payments, yield products, lending and asset management.
• Institutional offerings: trading, investing, banking and asset-management infrastructure for other financial institutions.

The expansion makes Payward's business broader than the original exchange. It also connects the company's new services with the institutional demand Ripley described, supporting the stronger results he linked to a broader business mix.

What does European banking change?

Ripley said entering banking in Europe would widen the range of products available to customers. Europe was Payward's first market and remains one of its largest. The company already offers payments and some lending and yield products there. Operating as a full bank would support a broader offering, he said.

He added that Payward's banking approach could help traditional financial institutions use crypto technology. The move ties the company's banking plans to the institutional shift Ripley described, beyond the provision of services to crypto users through Kraken.

Has Payward moved toward an IPO?

Yes. Payward has confidentially submitted an S-1 registration statement for an initial public offering, Ripley confirmed. The document's contents remain confidential; the fact of its submission does not. Ripley declined to discuss a listing timetable.

Is the business less volatile?

Ripley said diversification across products, asset classes and geographies has reduced fluctuations in the business. Revenue previously swung sharply despite longer-term growth, he said, while a shallower market downturn and a broader business mix supported strong results. He cited business growth in 2025 as evidence of that shift.

Payward's European banking expansion and broader product mix will test the institutional shift Ripley described; its confidential S-1 leaves the supporting financial details undisclosed, and he gave no listing timetable.