Crypto exchange Kraken freezes multibillion-dollar IPO plan due to difficult market conditions

Kraken's parent company filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the SEC in November regarding the proposed initial public offering of its common stock.

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What to know:

• Kraken paused its IPO plans after confidentially filing with the SEC in November, with sources saying it may revisit a listing when market conditions improve.
• The delay comes after a banner year for crypto IPOs. Firms like Circle, Bullish and Gemini went public and raised $14.6 billion collectively in 2025.
• Kraken’s $800 million raise at a $20 billion valuation, and broader industry trends, suggest this year's IPO candidates will emphasize financial infrastructure, compliance, and steady revenue over trading-driven models.

Crypto exchange Kraken, which announced four months ago that it planned to go public, has put its plan on hold, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

The company is still considering an initial public offering, but probably not until market conditions improve, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private.

A Kraken spokesperson said, "As we announced in November, we filed confidentially with the SEC, and that is all we can really share."

The downturn in crypto markets since October, when bitcoin BTC$71,397.51 touched a record high, has made companies more cautious about going public or raising fresh capital as declining asset prices and weaker trading volumes weigh on valuations and investor sentiment.

Payward, Kraken's parent, said it confidentially filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with a proposed initial public offering of common stock on Nov. 19.

That was the day after Kraken said it was valued at $20 billion when it raised $800 million in new funding, including a $200 million investment from Citadel Securities, to support its push to bring traditional financial markets onto blockchain infrastructure.

Last year, a more favorable environment at the SEC helped several major companies, including Circle Internet (CRCL), CoinDesk parent Bullish (BLSH), and Gemini Space Station (GEMI), successfully list their stock. PitchBook data shows that at least 11 crypto IPOs raised a combined $14.6 billion in 2025, a sharp increase from just $310 million in 2024.

In 2026, crypto IPOs are shaping up to be a pivotal test for the sector, with more infrastructure companies planning to go public. So far, however, crypto custodian BitGo is the only digital asset company to have listed, and has seen its stock price slump 44%, partly as a result of a messy market.

Unlike Kraken, Securitize, a tokenization firm that works closely with asset management giant BlackRock (BLK), said it still plans to go public. The firm plans to IPO as soon as it receives the SEC's green light, likely in the second quarter.

"We already raised $225 million through a PIPE as part of our SPAC merger when market conditions were better and interest in tokenization continues to be strong in spite of market conditions," Securitize founder and CEO Carlos Domingo told CoinDesk.

If 2025 was defined by listings linked to digital asset treasuries (DATs), 2026 is emerging as a year centered on financial infrastructure, according to White & Case partner Laura Katherine Mann.

In an interview with CoinDesk, she said the next wave of IPO candidates is likely to highlight compliance maturity, recurring revenue and operational resilience, qualities that align more closely with traditional public-market expectations.

Kraken dismissed its chief financial officer, Stephanie Lemmerman, earlier this year, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Read more: Crypto custody firm Copper in early talks for IPO as crypto 'plumbing' becomes new Wall Street favorite

UPDATE (March 18 15:23 UTC): Adds detail about the CFO leaving in the final graf)

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