Kraken Legal Fight Puts PowerTrade’s $7.2M Transfers Under Fire

TLDR

• Kraken parent Payward sued PowerTrade over claims tied to $7.2 million in digital assets and unrealized gains.
• Payward alleges PowerTrade used unauthorized account “corrections” to reverse profitable trades that had already settled.
• The filing says Kraken’s account moved from more than $6 million to nearly $2 million negative after disputed transactions.
• Payward has secured an interim worldwide freezing order from the DIFC Courts against PowerTrade and its co-founders.
• Kraken is seeking U.S. court discovery to trace assets and support legal proceedings against PowerTrade.

Payward, the parent company of Kraken, has sued derivatives platform PowerTrade over disputed funds. The company claims PowerTrade and its founders misappropriated $7.2 million in digital assets and unrealized gains. The case centers on alleged account changes, blocked withdrawals, and bitcoin collateral.

Kraken Parent Seeks Court Discovery

Payward asked a U.S. federal court to allow discovery from U.S.-based financial institutions. It says the records will support legal proceedings against PowerTrade and its co-founders.

A Kraken spokesperson said Payward wants the assets returned. “PowerTrade and its co-founders misappropriated $7.2 million of Payward’s digital assets and unrealized gains,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said Payward has obtained a worldwide freezing order from the DIFC Courts. The Dubai International Financial Centre order targets PowerTrade and its co-founders.

Payward said it has started legal proceedings in other jurisdictions. However, the U.S. request focuses on identifying assets tied to PowerTrade and its founders.

The filing describes PowerTrade as operated from El Salvador and based in the U.A.E. It names CEO Mario Gomez Lozada and CFO Bernd Sischka as co-founders.

Payward began crypto derivatives trading on PowerTrade in 2022. Later, the relationship broke down after market pressure raised liquidity concerns.

PowerTrade Accused Of Reversing Trades

According to the filing, Payward tried to withdraw funds from PowerTrade in October 2025. It says bitcoin prices fell that month, and markets declined.

Payward claims PowerTrade did not return the funds. Instead, it says PowerTrade used unauthorized transactions to change Payward’s account position.

The filing says Payward’s account held more than $6 million before those transactions. After the changes, PowerTrade showed the account with a negative balance of nearly $2 million.

Payward says PowerTrade used about 100 “corrections” to create that balance. Those entries allegedly involved trades that had expired or settled months earlier.

The company claims PowerTrade canceled profitable trades from Payward’s account. It says those cancellations helped create a debt that Payward disputes.

Payward also alleges PowerTrade sought to use that debt to claim Payward’s bitcoin collateral. The filing says the collateral remained at risk after disputed changes.

Kraken’s parent company now seeks records that could identify funds, accounts, and assets. The case continues after the DIFC freezing order and U.S. filing.

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