Kraken Eyes Wall Street Debut After Fresh $20 Billion Valuation With Confidential IPO Filing

• Kraken will be joining the public crypto-exchange arena alongside Gemini, Bullish, and Coinbase.
• The filing follows Kraken’s latest fundraising round, which valued the company at $20 billion, a 33% increase from its previous round.
• Co-CEO Arjun Sethi reportedly said Kraken does not feel pressured to go public quickly, citing sufficient private capital.

Crypto exchange Kraken said on Wednesday that it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering. Kraken would be entering a field that now includes Gemini (GEMI) and Bullish (BLSH), which both listed earlier this year, and Coinbase (COIN), the largest publicly traded crypto exchange in the U.S.

The filing follows the company’s announcement on Tuesday that its latest fundraising valued the firm at $20 billion, an increase of roughly 33% from its prior round. Kraken raised $800 million in two tranches, securing the capital ahead of its planned move into public markets. 

Kraken Isn’t Pushing For A Fast IPO

Speaking last week at Yahoo Finance’s Invest event, co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the company does not feel pressure to go public quickly, noting that its balance sheet provides “sufficient capital” to operate privately. 

He also cautioned against the idea that Kraken should pursue an IPO simply because competitors have done so, saying early listings by other firms help clarify for investors “what margin looks like” and “how you make money” in the sector.

According to a March report by Bloomberg, the company is planning to go public in the first quarter of 2026. At the time, the company spokesperson said, “We’ll pursue public markets as it makes sense for our clients, our partners and shareholders.” Founded in 2011 and formally known as Payward Ventures, Kraken is one of the oldest crypto exchanges in the market. 

Bullish And Gemini Struggle Amid Crypto Sell-Off

Bullish’s stock continued its decline on Wednesday, dropping nearly 6% by midday trade. The stock, which began trading on Nasdaq in August, is down more than 62% since its IPO. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Bullish moved higher within ‘extremely bullish’ territory, while chatter climbed to ‘extremely high’ from ‘high’ levels.

Gemini’s stock fell more than 5% as well. The stock, which went public in September, is now down nearly 70%. Broader macroeconomic pressures and a parallel downturn in cryptocurrency prices have weighed on newly public crypto-exchange equities. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the Winklevoss-led exchange trended in ‘bullish’ territory with chatter at ‘high’ levels.

Bitcoin (BTC) dipped below $90,000 for a second consecutive day by Wednesday afternoon. Bitcoin’s price was down 4.3% in the last 24hours. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency trended in ‘bearish’ territory, accompanied by ‘high’ levels of chatter.

Read also: Elon Musk Announces xAI, Humain, Nvidia Partnership To Launch 500MW Project In Saudi Arabia

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Share

·

Add us on