Kraken is aiming for an IPO next year: report

According to a new report from Bloomberg, Kraken, one of the oldest and largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States, is orchestrating a large round of funding ahead of a possible initial public offering next year.

Sources contacted by the outlet say the exchange is likely aiming to raise $100 million before the move.

Will Kraken go public?

If Kraken were to go ahead, it would become the second publicly traded pure-play crypto exchange in the world after Coinbase, its biggest rival.

The purported plans are a response to investor inquiries about the issue fueled by the crypto market’s recovery in recent months, which has boosted trading volumes from which exchanges like Kraken generate profits.

Two of the people contacted said Kraken would raise the money in a “pre-IPO round” with the intention of completing it by the end of the year.

An IPO could be completed as soon as next year, the people said, after Kraken can find a “brand” company to join its board. There have been only verbal discussions about terms and valuations without any formal documentation, one person said.

“We are always exploring strategic paths to Kraken’s mission: to accelerate the global adoption of crypto,” Kraken said, declining to comment specifically on fundraising or IPO matters. “We remain fully focused on investing in this goal.”

Public crypto trading and stock platform Robinhood said Thursday it would acquire crypto exchange Bitstamp. Earlier this year, stablecoin issuer Circle also announced plans to go public.

A maturing crypto market

Kraken’s parent company, Payward, was founded in 2011. Although the exchange has intended to go public for years, a mix of volatile crypto market falls and regulatory issues have continued to thwart its efforts .

As of today, the momentum is shifting on both fronts. Bitcoin is now experiencing a new wave of demand from Wall Street, with experts believing that tens of billions of dollars have yet to enter the newly launched ETF products.

Meanwhile, policymakers are beginning to open up to crypto and push legislation to create legal clarity for the industry. Last month, the House of Representatives passed comprehensive legislation to clarify which crypto assets are commodities versus securities and how crypto exchanges can be properly registered with regulators.

Kraken has already run into trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), paying a $30 million fine last year for failing to register its stake as a service product. It now faces a longer lawsuit for allegedly listing dozens of unregistered securities on its platform, which it is fighting in court.

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