Kraken Considering a Stock Market Debut Next Year: Report
Competitors Coinbase and eToro are already barreling toward multi-billion dollar listings on the public markets.
Mar 16, 2021 at 6:50 p.m. UTCUpdated Sep 14, 2021 at 12:27 p.m. UTC
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Major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is considering a stock market debut in 2022, according to Fox Business reporter Charles Gasparino.
- Gasparino said Tuesday that Kraken executives are mulling either a tie-up with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) or a more traditional initial public offering (IPO).
- No major crypto exchange has gone public in the U.S. just yet, but that should soon change as Coinbase is barreling toward a direct listing and eToro announced it's merging with a SPAC Tuesday.
- With no bitcoin ETF in sight and crypto service companies booming, Wall Street investors may be eager to capture whatever slice of exchanges they can to ride the wave of a burgeoning asset class.
- The multi-pronged crypto brokerage, which also holds a national banking charter, is one of crypto space’s biggest unicorns and has reportedly sought a $10 billion valuation in private equity deals.
- Kraken CEO Jesse Powell has previously hinted his interest in going public in 2022, but only at the right price. He said $10 billion is too low. For context, Coinbase, a direct competitor, has an expected valuation of $100 billion and eToro weighs in at $9.6 billion.
- Contacted by CoinDesk, a Kraken spokesperson confirmed that while the exchange might consider a public offering next year, any such offering would happen through a direct listing and not through a SPAC as the company is "too big" for that.
UPDATE (March 16, 19:55 UTC): Adds Kraken comment.
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