Kraken is considering going public in 2022 via a direct market listing, the American cryptocurrency exchange has confirmed.
The intentions of the California-based exchange for public listing were first revealed by Fox Business reporter, Charles Gasparino on Twitter, saying that there could be a traditional initial public offering (IPO) or a merger with a blank check acquisition company.
SCOOP: @krakenfx execs eying going public possibly through a SPAC or IPO possibly sometime next year as online crypto exchange’s customer growth ramps up; industry sources expect a raft of crypto SPACs this summer and with that, much more regulatory scrutiny more now @FoxBusiness
— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) March 16, 2021
However, Kraken later clarified to Coindesk that it is only considering a direct stock market listing as the company is too big for a SPAC merger. In a direct listing, the company goes public without issuing any additional stocks.
Crypto IPO Rush
Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the United States and a competitor to Kraken, is already in the process of going public through a direct listing later this month. It might see a valuation of $100 billion, making it the largest stock market debut so far. However, eToro, an Israeli trading platform is taking the SPAC route for public listing.
Following Coinbase, Kraken is the next major spot crypto exchange in the country. It is actively strengthening its services and gained a bank charter last year under Wyoming’s special-purpose depository institution law.
The exchange’s intentions to go public is not surprising as CEO Jesse Powell earlier hinted that Kraken could go public next year. Though, the question of valuation still remains.
Kraken, which is currently valued at $4 billion, is reportedly seeking a $10 billion valuation for its next private funding round that could go up to $20 billion under the right circumstances. Additionally, Powell stressed that he will go for public debut only at the right price.
Apart from Kraken, ICE-owned Bakket is reportedly looking for a SPAC merger, but there is no official confirmation on that yet.
