Crypto exchange Kraken prepares initial public offering

US cryptocurrency exchange Kraken filed for listing on the stock exchange last week, just hours after announcing a massive fundraising round that values the company at $20 billion, according to decrypt.co.

The company said it has confidentially filed a draft S-1 registration form with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on Wall Street. Kraken said it has not yet determined the number of shares it plans to offer or the anticipated price range for those shares. The company added that it expects the IPO to take place as soon as the SEC completes its review process, depending on market conditions.

The crypto exchange's move has been widely anticipated since March, when the SEC, under the Trump administration, dropped a lawsuit against Kraken over its staking services. (Ed. Staking services allow cryptocurrency holders to generate passive income by locking up funds to support a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain network. These services help secure the network and can grant voting rights in certain cases.)

In the months that followed, reports circulated that the cryptocurrency exchange was looking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars ahead of a public offering. Last Tuesday, the deal materialized: an $800 million fundraising round led by major traditional financial players, including Citadel, which valued Kraken at $20 million.

The Wyoming-based exchange said the new funds would fuel a global expansion into territories beyond the United States.

Before President Donald Trump returned to office in January, Coinbase was the only cryptocurrency exchange listed on Wall Street. In a year of frenetic cryptocurrency activity, however, other exchanges - including Gemini and Bullish - have successfully launched IPOs. While those offerings initially far exceeded Wall Street expectations, largely due to the cryptocurrency hype, they have since faltered. Bullish shares, which topped $118 during its IPO in August, have since fallen to $36.50 by the close on Nov. 20. Meanwhile, Gemini, rocked by a poor third-quarter performance, has seen its shares plunge sharply since its Wall Street debut in September, down about 70% to nearly $11 last Thursday.