Crypto exchange Kraken has put its planned initial public offering (IPO) on hold due to difficult market conditions, according to sources familiar with the matter. The company, which confidentially filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 19, 2025, is still considering going public but will likely wait for market conditions to improve.
A Kraken spokesperson confirmed the confidential filing, stating, "As we announced in November, we filed confidentially with the SEC, and that is all we can really share." The decision follows a broader downturn in crypto markets that began after Bitcoin reached a record high in October 2025. Declining asset prices and weaker trading volumes have made companies more cautious about public listings, as these factors weigh on valuations and investor sentiment.
The IPO filing came just one day after Kraken announced it had raised $800 million in new funding at a $20 billion valuation. This funding round included a $200 million investment from Citadel Securities and was intended to support Kraken's initiative to bring traditional financial markets onto blockchain infrastructure.
The pause contrasts with the strong IPO environment of 2025. According to PitchBook data, at least 11 crypto IPOs raised a combined $14.6 billion last year, a sharp increase from just $310 million in 2024. Major companies like Circle Internet, CoinDesk parent Bullish, and Gemini Space Station successfully listed, aided by a more favorable regulatory environment at the SEC.
So far in 2026, the landscape has shifted. Crypto custodian BitGo is the only digital asset company to have listed this year, and its stock price has slumped 44% since its debut, partly attributed to messy market conditions. Unlike Kraken, tokenization firm Securitize, which works closely with asset management giant BlackRock, says it still plans to go public as soon as it receives SEC approval, 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," said Securitize founder and CEO Carlos Domingo.
White & Case partner Laura Katherine Mann noted that while 2025 was defined by listings linked to digital asset treasuries, 2026 is emerging as a year centered on financial infrastructure. She stated that the next wave of IPO candidates will likely need to highlight compliance maturity, recurring revenue, and operational resilience to meet traditional public-market expectations.
