Consensys, the Ethereum development firm led by Joe Lubin, has pushed back its potential U.S. public offering to the fall at the earliest due to poor market conditions, according to two people familiar with the situation.
The MetaMask wallet builder reportedly engaged bankers from JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs last year to lead the process.
Consensys had intended to file a draft S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) around the end of February this year, according to a third person. A confidential filing is typically the first formal step in the IPO process.
Crypto markets fell sharply in February 2026 as investors retreated from risk assets due to macroeconomic uncertainty, tariffs, waning expectations of interest rate cuts and strong outflows from bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), triggering a wave of leveraged liquidations across digital assets. Against that background, Consensys’ decision to delay its IPO plans was hardly surprising.
A spokeswoman for Consensys said: “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on market speculation.”
Improved regulatory clarity in the US prompted several crypto firms to outline plans for IPOs this year. But a prolonged market downturn has seen major companies such as exchange giant Kraken and crypto wallet maker Ledger put their IPO plans on hold.
BitGo (BTGO), the only crypto-native company to go public in 2026, raised about $213 million in its IPO in January, priced shares above the market range of $18, and rose more than 20% in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
But the rally quickly petered out, highlighting volatile investor sentiment toward crypto listings, with the stock now trading around 36% below its IPO.
In early 2022, Consensys raised a large Series D round of $450 million, valuing the company at $7 billion.
Read more: Crypto wallet provider Ledger puts US IPO plans on hold due to market conditions
