Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, which announced four months ago that it planned to go public, has suspended its plan, 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 fall of crypto markets since October, when bitcoin hit an all-time high, has 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.
Kraken parent Payward 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 as it raised $800 million in new funding, including a $200 million investment from Citadel Securities, to support its push to bring traditional financial markets into 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 shares. PitchBook data shows that at least 11 cryptocurrency IPOs raised a combined $14.6 billion in 2025, a sharp increase from just $310 million in 2024.
In 2026, cryptocurrency IPOs are shaping up to be a pivotal test for the sector, with more infrastructure companies planning to go public. However, so far, cryptocurrency custodian BitGo is the only digital asset company to go public and has seen its share price fall 44%, partly as a result of a disorderly market.
Unlike Kraken, Securitize, a tokenization company that works closely with asset management giant BlackRock (BLK), said it still plans to go public. The company plans to hold an initial public offering as soon as it receives the green light from the SEC, 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 remains strong despite the market conditions,” Securitize founder and CEO Carlos Domingo told CoinDesk.
If 2025 was defined by quotes linked to digital asset treasuries (DAT), 2026 is shaping up to be a year focused on financial infrastructure, according to Laura Katherine Mann, partner at White & Case.
In an interview with CoinDesk, he said the next wave of IPO candidates will likely highlight compliance maturity, recurring revenue and operational resilience, qualities that align more closely with 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 custody firm Copper is in early talks for an IPO as crypto ‘plumbing’ becomes Wall Street’s new darling
UPDATE (March 18 at 15:23 UTC): Add details about CFO departure in final chart)
