What Other Crypto Firms Could Go Public This Year

Circle,
the
U.S.-based
stablecoin
issuer,
is
taking
another
swing
at
going
public,
according
to
a
confidential
document
filed
with
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC).
This
will
be
the
major
crypto
firm’s
second
attempt
at
a
public
listing,
after
its
initial
plan
to
merge
with
a
special
purpose
acquisition
company,
or
SPAC,
fell
through
in
2021.

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With
cryptocurrencies
rebounding
amid
a
strengthening
economy,
this
year
looks
set
for
a
potential
rebound
in
investment
funding
and
potential
initial
public
offerings
in
the
blockchain
sector.
Despite
existing
for
15
years,
there
are
remarkably
few
publicly-traded
companies
in
the
crypto
sector.

In
December,
Goldman
Sachs

predicted
stronger
IPO
activity
in
the
back
half
of
2024,
particularly
if
the
Federal
Reserve
cuts
interest
rates,
which
would
lower
the
cost
of
deal-making
and
stimulate
the
economy.

There
are
many
potential
obstacles
here,
including
the
U.S.
presidential
election,
Congressional
infighting,
war
and
inflation,
but
“when
financial
markets
are
strong,
public
offerings
tend
to
be
robust,”
as
Goldman
says,
and
it’s
becoming
increasingly
clear
that
crypto
markets
are
strengthening.

Moreover,
with
the
launch
of
a
spot
bitcoin
exchange-traded
fund
(ETF)
yesterday,
crypto
is
moving
into
a
more
mature
phase.
Many
companies
have
raised
a
significant
amount
of
capital,
and
the
oldest
firm’s
venture
capital
backers
—
who
typically
work
on
10-year
time
horizons
—
are
likely
looking
for
a
return.

See
also:


European
Crypto
Startups
Raised
Record
$5.7B
in
VC
Funding
in
2022

Further,
due
to
lingering
economic
uncertainty,
if
crypto
markets
stay
elevated
in
the
short
term,
it
may
represent
a
window
of
opportunity
to
go
public
before
a
downturn.
Coinbase,
which
had
a
direct
listing
in
early
2021,
may
be
representative
here,
as
one
of
the
few
firms
to
go
public
during
the
previous
bull
market.

There
are
over
a
dozen
“unicorns,”
or
private
companies
with
valuations
above
$1
billion,
in
crypto,
which
are
the
most
likely
candidates
to
IPO.
Some
may
prefer
to
remain
private,
which
affords
a
greater
level
of
corporate
control
and
invites
less
scrutiny.
But
in
general,
if
a
firm
raises
outside
capital,
the
two
most
likely
“exits”
for
investors
are
either
a
public
listing
or
bankruptcy.

CoinDesk
analyzed
many
of
these
companies
to
determine
which
could
announce
plans
to
go
public
this
year.
This
is
a
representational,
rather
than
complete,
list
intended
to
give
a
sense
of
the
factors
at
play.
These
deals
will
likely
be
concentrated
in
the
exchange,
custody
and
stablecoin
sectors,
all
of
which
have
vast
potential
for
growth
amid
a
crypto
rebound.

In
November,
Kraken
CEO
Dave
Ripley
said
the
firm
was
strongly
considering
going
public.
It
previously
took
initial
steps
by
initiating
a
review
by
the
SEC,
which
after
a
year
didn’t
declare
Kraken
an
“effective”
candidate.
Since
then,
however,
The
Block
reported
Kraken
has
filled
its
C-suite
with
seasoned
executives
experienced
in
public
offerings,
including
Chief
Compliance
Officer

C.J.
Rinaldi
and
Chief
Financial
Officer

Carrie
Dolan.

Kraken
was
last
valued
at
just
under
$11
billion,
and
also
boasts
one
of
the
strongest
legal/compliance
units
in
the
industry,
headed
up
by
lawyer
Marco
Santori.

Working
against
Kraken
is
a
lawsuit
brought
last
year
by
the
SEC,
the
agency
that
will
have
to
approve
its
public
listing.
It’s
worth
noting
several
other
exchanges
and
brokerages,
including
Israel-based
eToro
and
CoinDesk’s
parent
company
Bullish,
explored
going
public
but
were
blocked
by
the
SEC.
Bitpanda,
in
the
E.U.,
and
Bitso,
in
Mexico,
should
also
be
watched,
if
expanding
the
conversation
beyond
U.S.
markets.

In
the
crypto
custody
sector,
competitors
Anchorage
and
BitGo
are
also
likely
exploring
public
listings.
Both
firms,
considered
leaders
in
the
field,
have
expanded
out
beyond
their
core
crypto
custody
businesses,
including
other
security
services
as
well
as
the
buzzy-area
of
tokenization.

“Anchorage
Digital
serves
a
global
roster
of
institutions
with
safe
and
secure
digital
asset
infrastructure.
Our
client
base
includes
asset
managers,
registered
investment
advisors,
crypto
protocols,
venture
capital
firms,
and
more,”
a
spokesperson
told
CoinDesk
in
an
email,
sidestepping
the
question
about
going
public.

BitGo
was
founded
in
2013,
and
was
valued
at

$1.75
billion
during
a
2023
Series
C
raise
–
a
low
enough
valuation
where
a
SPAC
merger
might
be
possible.
Meanwhile,
Anchorage,
which
is
also
a
federally-chartered
bank,
was
last
valued
at
$3
billion.

See
also:


BitGo
Buys
Crypto
Wealth
Management
Platform
HeightZero

The
third-largest
stablecoin
issuer,
Paxos,
may
also
be
a
contender
to
go
public.
Paxos
is
the
go-to
issuer
for
third
parties
looking
to
create
branded
stablecoins.
For
instance,
it
is
the
issuer
of
PayPal’s
recently
launched
PYUSD
token
and
the
since
discontinued
BUSD
coin
for
Binance.
Stablecoins
have
emerged
as
one
of
the
clearest
uses
for
blockchain.

There
are
plenty
of
other
companies
to
name
and
emerging
sectors
in
the
space.
There
are
several
large
and
long-established
blockchain
hardware
firms,
including
Ledger
and
Trezor,
payments
technology
firms
like
Ripple
and
BitPay,
as
well
as
financial
service
providers
like
Bitwise
that
could
be
considering
a
public
stock
offering.

The
key
things
to
look
for,
beyond
strong
corporate
governance,
is
market-fit
and
the
potential
for
growth.
Chainalysis,
with
its
host
of
government
contracts,
may
also
be
in
a
strong
position
to
go
public
this
year.
It’s
worth
noting
that
of
the
existing
publicly
traded
companies
in
crypto,
the
majority
are
involved
in
crypto
mining,
in
part
because
this
is
an
industry
where
cash
flows
are
most
easy
to
predict,
despite
the
volatility
of
bitcoin’s
price.

As
a
final
thought,
I
think
it’s
possible
if
resurrected
FTX
will
try
to
go
public
—
if
only
because
who
else
would
fund
it?

“All
depends
on
how
Circle’s
IPO
goes
to
be
honest.
If
it
goes
well,
there
are
a
lot
of
other
companies
that
would
probably
explore
it,”
Delphi
Digital
CEO
Anil
Lulla
said.