Original author:Daniel Kuhn，CoinDesk
Original compilation: Felix, PANews
Circle, the U.S.-based issuer of stablecoin USDC, is preparing to go public again, according to a confidential filing with the U.S. SEC. Circles previous plan to merge with a SPAC company in 2021 and list it on the New York Stock Exchange ended in failure.
(Note: In addition to traditional IPOs, listing in the United States can also achieve listing goals through mergers with special purpose acquisition companies, referred to as SPACs. SPACs are commonly known as blank check companies and are essentially like a listed private equity fund. The sponsor First set up a company, submit an initial public offering prospectus, go public through IPO financing, and then find a target company to complete the acquisition within 12 to 24 months. Most SPACs are listed on Nasdaq, and some are listed in New York. listed on the stock exchange)
Investment funds and potential IPOs in the blockchain space appear poised to turn around this year as the crypto market rebounds on the back of a strengthening economy. Although the crypto industry has been around for 15 years, there are very few companies that have gone public.
In December last year, Goldman Sachs predicted that IPO activity would be more active in the second half of 2024, especially if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates, which will reduce transaction costs and stimulate the economy. There are many potential obstacles, including the U.S. presidential election, congressional infighting, war, and inflation. But as Goldman Sachs noted, “when financial markets are strong, public offerings tend to be frequent,” and it’s increasingly clear that the crypto market is strengthening.
Additionally, the crypto market is more mature with the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs. Many companies have raised significant amounts of capital, and investors in established companies (often on a 10-year basis) may be looking for returns.
In addition, due to economic uncertainty, if the crypto market remains high in the short term, there may be a window of opportunity to go public before the recession. The representative one is Coinbase, which was directly listed in early 2021 as one of the few listed companies during the last bull market.
Who is most likely to IPO?
In the encryption field, there are more than a dozen unicorn companies with valuations of more than $1 billion, which are the most likely candidates for IPOs.
Although some companies may prefer to remain private to have a greater degree of control over the company and less scrutiny. But generally speaking, if a company raises external capital, the only two ways investors are most likely to achieve an exit are either a public listing or bankruptcy liquidation.
This article analyzes many of these companies to determine which ones could announce plans to go public this year. This is a representative but not complete list intended to provide readers with an understanding of the factors that influence a listing. These companies will likely focus on exchanges, custody, and stablecoins, all of which have significant growth potential during the cryptocurrency rally.
In November last year, Kraken CEO Dave Ripley said he was considering going public. The company had previously taken preliminary steps to file a review application with the US SEC. But a year later, the SEC has not declared Kraken a valid candidate. However, Kraken’s executive team has since been filled with veterans with public offering experience, including Chief Compliance Officer CJ Rinaldi and Chief Financial Officer Carrie Dolan, The Block reported. Kraken was recently valued at nearly $11 billion, and the company also has one of the strongest legal/compliance departments in the industry, led by attorney Marco Santori.
What is detrimental to Kraken is the lawsuit filed by the US SEC last year, accusing Kraken of being an unregistered brokerage institution. As a result, Kraken has only one way out: a public listing. It is worth noting that several other exchanges and brokers, including Israel’s eToro and CoinDesk’s parent company Bullish, have tried to go public, but have been rejected by the US SEC. If one expands ones horizons beyond the US market, the EUs Bitpanda and Mexicos Bitso should also receive attention.
In the crypto custody space, rivals Anchorage and BitGo may also be exploring public listings. Both are leading companies in the custody space, and their business scope has expanded beyond custody to include other security services and the popular area of tokenization.
Anchorage Digital provides secure and reliable digital asset infrastructure services to institutions around the world. Our customer base includes asset managers, registered investment advisors, crypto protocols, venture capital firms and more, a spokesperson said in an email. Avoided questions about listing.
BitGo was founded in 2013 and was valued at US$1.75 billion in Series C financing in 2023. This valuation is very low and may be merged with SPAC to be listed. Anchorage, meanwhile, is also a federally chartered bank and was last valued at $3 billion.
Paxos, the third largest stablecoin issuer, may also apply for listing. Paxos is the issuer of choice for third parties looking to create branded stablecoins. For example, Paxos is the issuer of PayPal’s recently launched PYUSD token and Binance’s BUSD (discontinued). Stablecoins have emerged as one of the clearest uses for blockchain.
There are many other companies and emerging tracks in the crypto space. There are several large, long-standing blockchain hardware companies that may be considering IPOs, including Ledger and Trezor, payments technology companies Ripple and BitPay, and financial services providers like Bitwise.
In addition to efficient corporate governance, key factors for listing include market adaptability and growth potential. Chainalysis, which has a large number of government contracts, may also be well-positioned to go public this year. It’s worth noting that of the existing crypto-listed companies, the majority are involved in crypto mining, in part because, despite Bitcoin’s volatile price, it’s a business with the most predictable cash flows.
One last thought is that FTX might also try to go public if someone provides funding.
Delphi Digital CEO Anil Lulla said: Honestly, it all depends on how Circles IPO goes. If it goes well, many other companies may try it.
