Cryptocurrency
exchange Kraken is pursuing $500 million in fresh funding at a $15 billion
valuation, people familiar with the matter told The Information, marking a
significant step up from its previous $11 billion price tag in 2022.
Kraken Is Building IPO
Runway
The funding
round comes as the 14-year-old crypto platform prepares for a potential initial
public offering (IPO) as early as the first quarter of 2026. The company has
been building momentum under co-CEO Arjun Sethi, who joined from Tribe Capital,
while publicly releasing financial metrics that show $1.5 billion in revenue
last year.
Kraken’s
fundraising efforts reflect the broader appetite for crypto investments amid
regulatory tailwinds under the Trump administration. The exchange currently
processes around $1.37 billion in daily trading volume across more than 1,100
trading pairs, roughly half the volume of its primary U.S. rival Coinbase.
The timing
appears strategic, with crypto companies seeing massive public market gains
this year. Circle, the issuer of USDC stablecoin, jumped 484% since its June
IPO debut at $31, closing Tuesday above $181. Trading platform eToro gained
over 16% since its May Nasdaq listing, while Coinbase shares have surged 50%
year-to-date.
Expansion Push
Kraken has
been actively investing in growth initiatives. In March, the company announced
plans to acquire futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion. The
exchange also launched a peer-to-peer payments app called “Krak” in
June, allowing users to send both fiat and cryptocurrency across borders.
The company
secured regulatory approval to expand across the European Union under the
Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, providing another growth avenue as it
prepares for public markets.
The
exchange’s latest move also includes offering tokenized U.S. stocks on the
Solana blockchain, a plan first mentioned in May and implemented by the end of
June. The platform now provides access to 60 tokenized Wall Street
stocks, tradable 24/5, with plans to expand the offering over time. Similar to
other exchanges offering such solutions, Kraken is partnering with xStocks,
powered by Swiss issuer Backed
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Sector-Wide IPO Wave
Kraken
joins a growing list of crypto companies eyeing public debuts. The Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped several enforcement actions against
crypto firms under the Trump administration, including a long-running
securities violation lawsuit against Kraken in March.
Other
companies signaling IPO plans include Ripple, Gemini, Galaxy Digital,
Grayscale, and Bullish. The regulatory shift has created what many see as a
more favorable environment for crypto companies to access public capital
markets.
The current
fundraising environment for crypto and AI startups has been particularly
robust, with investors showing strong appetite for companies with compelling
growth stories in either sector.
As Reuters
stated, the Kraken spokesperson declined to comment on the funding discussions.
This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
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