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’s all we can really share.”
The downturn in the crypto markets since October, when bitcoin hit record highs have made companies more cautious about going public or raising new capital as falling asset prices and weaker trading volumes weigh on valuations and investor sentiment.
Payward, Kraken’s parent company, said it confidentially filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with a proposed initial public offering of common stock on November 19.
That was the day after Kraken said it was valued at $20 billion as it raised $800 million in new funding, including a $200 million investment from Citadel Securities, to support its efforts 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 company Bullish ( BLSH ), and Gemini Space Station ( GEMI ), successfully list their shares. PitchBook data shows that at least 11 crypto IPOs raised a combined $14.6 billion in 2025, up sharply from just $310 million in 2024.
In 2026, crypto IPOs are shaping up to be a crucial test for the sector, with several infrastructure companies planning to go public. So far, however, crypto custodian BitGo is the only digital asset company to list, and has seen its share price drop 44%, partly as a result of a jittery 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 go public as soon as it receives the SEC’s green light, likely in the second quarter.
“We have 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 despite 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 will likely highlight compliance maturity, recurring revenue and operational resilience, qualities that more closely match traditional public market expectations.
Kraken fired its chief financial officer, Stephanie Lemmerman, earlier this year, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Read more: Crypto custodian Copper in early IPO talks as crypto ‘plumbing’ becomes new Wall Street favorite
UPDATE (18 March 15:23 UTC): Adding details of the CFO leaving in the final graph)
