Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken chooses to proceed with a confidential IPO filing, days later Securing an $800 million increase.
The timing surprised some market watchers because the company’s recent capital increase indicated a strong valuation in the private market and gave it a big head start.
But the IPO move fits into a broader trend playing out across crypto, according to seasoned securities attorney Megan Penick of Dorsey & Whitney.
“As Treasury digital asset companies increasingly seek to access US capital markets … crypto exchanges, such as Kraken, are also seeking to access more liquidity through initial public offerings,” he said in an email to Coindesk.
For Kraken, liquidity is only part of the equation. As the industry emerged from a multi-year regulatory fogexchanges are trying to position themselves for the next growth inflection.
“Regulators are moving to bring more clarity to crypto regulation, with a bipartisan proposal aimed at bringing BTC, ETH and Crypto exchanges within the CFTC’s regulatory purview,” Penick said.
If this shift materializes, a US-listed Kraken could operate with a level of regulatory certainty previously unavailable, fueling the appetite of institutional investors.
Penick added that Kraken could complete its offering in “six months or so,” assuming a typical review cycle and updating financials. But the agency only recently reopened after being shut down for nearly six weeks, creating a backlog of diagnostic tests. This means that Kraken’s debut could reach 2026.
The timing of Kraken’s IPO is also intriguing. Crypto Exchanges Bullish (whose parent company Bullish Global also owns Coindesk) and Gemini both went public in recent moves with Open shares. But now, the crypto market is starting a corrective phase with bitcoin The fall from $ 126,000 record highs to $ 91,000 in just one month.
The filing is a sign that Kraken trusts the market, but also that the US crypto market is maturing to a point where it’s safer to jump on board to avoid missing the boat.
