Crypto exchange Kraken in no rush for IPO, CEO says
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Kraken, a major U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, is in no rush to go public, its co-chief executive said Tuesday.
Why it matters: There have been reports, as recently as this week, that the company was considering raising money ahead of an initial public offering.
The big picture: Since the Coinbase IPO in 2021, larger crypto companies have been reluctant to pursue public trading, due to what's been seen as a difficult regulatory environment.
What they're saying: "I think the way we think about it is that, if it's in service to our clients to going public, building that trust as a currency, then we'll think about doing it. So we'll always be ready for it, but it may not be that we'll have it on a specific date," co-CEO Arjun Sethi told told Axios' Lucinda Shen on Tuesday during Axios's 2025 What's Next Summit.
- Founder and former CEO Jesse Powell had floated the possibility of an IPO in 2021.
- This week, Bloomberg reported that Kraken's parent company Payward is looking at early 2026, though Sethi declined to confirm.
Between the lines: Sethi said that one of the first things he thought about when he joined as co-CEO was acquisitions, in order to leverage crypto's efficiencies in the world of traditional finance.
- In fact, Kraken just made a $1.5 billion acquisition of Ninja Trader, a futures trading platform.
The bottom line: "The overall regulatory environment, worldwide, not just in the United States, has become a lot more favorable," Sethi said.
