The confidential filing with the SEC for a US initial public offering came less than a week after Grayscale Investments announced a similar move.
Kraken, the US cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in Wyoming, announced the confidential filing of a draft registration statement for a proposed initial public offering, following months of speculation among many in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.
In a Wednesday notice, Kraken said it had confidentially submitted a Form S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed IPO of its common stock, setting the groundwork for the company to go public. Kraken noted that the IPO was still subject to review by the SEC, which recently returned to full operations and staffing after a 43-day government shutdown.
The filing came less than a week after Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi gave an interview in which he said the exchange wasn’t “rac[ing] to the door as quickly as possible” to go public. Reports had been circulating since 2024 suggesting that Kraken was planning an IPO, but the company had largely not responded to the speculation until Wednesday.
