Kraken Upcoming IPO: Crypto exchange could hit public exchange in 2026

One way to approach investing is to choose companies that power trends, rather than just allocating to the more direct aspects of the trends. For example, if precious metals surge, you might invest in a mining company, not just gold or silver bullion. If there's a real estate boom, you might invest in a real estate brokerage, not just specific properties. And with crypto becoming more mainstream, you might invest in crypto exchanges like Kraken that facilitate trades, rather than choosing particular coins or tokens.

While taking this zoomed-out approach isn't inherently better or worse than other investment strategies, it could provide diversified or at least alternative exposure to a category you have conviction in.

Indeed, many investors have taken interest in companies like Kraken, with this crypto exchange reaching a $5.52 billion valuation from its last primary funding round in 2020.² Now, private shares of Kraken stock are actively being traded on secondary marketplaces like Forge, and the company could be gearing up for a potential IPO next year.

In March, Bloomberg reported that Kraken is looking to go public as soon as the first quarter of 2026, given the more crypto-friendly regulatory environment under the Trump administration.³ Bloomberg also reported that Kraken is working with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to raise up to $1 billion in debt, as well as potentially some equity financing, to help fund growth efforts ahead of a potential IPO.⁴

That said, this isn't the first time Kraken has been rumored to be seeking an IPO, such as with founder and former CEO Jesse Powell suggesting in 2021 that the company could go public the following year.⁵ There were also reports last year that a 2025 IPO could be on the table.⁶

More recently, the day following the latest Bloomberg report about Kraken raising funds while getting ready to possibly go public, co-CEO Arjun Sethi said during an Axios conference that the company doesn't necessarily have a specific date in mind for an IPO.⁷

Kraken: Company background

Kraken, officially called Payward Inc., was founded in 2011 by Jesse Powell, Thanh Luu, and Michael Gronager.⁸ The exchange launched in 2013, initially by offering trading between euros and two cryptocurrencies — Bitcoin and Litecoin.⁹ Since then, the company has expanded to offer trading between many fiat currencies (such as USD and GBP) and over 400 different cryptocurrencies.¹⁰ In addition to spot trading, it offers margin, futures and index services, among others.

The company is based in San Francisco and has grown to nearly 3,000 employees globally.¹¹ In 2020, Kraken became the first digital asset company to receive a federal- and state-recognized bank charter in the U.S., enabling the company to provide banking services for digital assets, e.g., paying bills in Bitcoin.¹²

Advancing crypto globally

Since its launch, Kraken has grown substantially alongside the crypto industry, in a bit of a chicken vs. the egg relationship (i.e., while growth in crypto adoption generally helps Kraken, the company also arguably facilitates conditions for more crypto usage).

In 2024, Kraken's revenue hit $1.5 billion, up 128% from the previous year. And even though 2023 was a down year for Kraken, the 2024 revenue still represents a 28% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2022. Meanwhile, its adjusted EBITDA for 2024 was $424 million, amidst total trade volume of $665 billion across 2.5 million funded accounts.¹³

Part of Kraken's growth has come from acquisitions, in addition to the popularity of its core trading platform. For example, in 2019, Kraken bought index provider CF Benchmarks for a nine-figure sum, which has seemed to pay off given the proliferation of Bitcoin ETFs that license CF Benchmark's Bitcoin Reference Rate.¹⁴ Also, it was recently announced that Kraken is launching tokenized versions of major U.S. stocks like Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia for global investors outside the U.S.¹⁵ These “xStocks,” built on the Solana blockchain, offer 24/7 trading and are backed by real shares. The move reflects rising demand for blockchain-based equity access.¹⁶

Kraken has also started to expand outside of just crypto, such as with its recent $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader, a U.S. retail futures trading platform for both crypto and traditional futures markets.¹⁷

That said, it hasn't always been a smooth path forward for Kraken. In particular, it has faced regulatory hurdles, such as with the SEC charging Kraken in 2023 for operating "as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency."¹⁸ However, this lawsuit was dropped in March 2025,¹⁹ with the change in administration apparently being more conducive to crypto-related operations.

Still, global regulation could be one of several risks, along with competition from other prominent exchanges, the potential for investors to sour on crypto, etc.

Kraken stock price history

Kraken's Forge Price™ is $23.35 as of late April, which is about a 170% increase over the past year.²⁰. Forge Price is a derived data point that reflects the up-to-date price performance of venture-backed, late-stage companies, and is calculated based on a proprietary model incorporating pricing inputs from primary funding round information secondary market transactions and indications of interest (IOIs) on Forge.

This jump in Kraken's Forge Price has outpaced the Forge Private Market Index — a broad measurement that reflects the up-to-date performance and pricing activity of venture-backed, late-stage companies that are actively traded in the private market — which is up 36.1% over the past year.²¹

Kraken funding history and private market valuation

Kraken has a relatively limited funding history from primary funding rounds, despite the company's substantial valuation growth since inception. In 2013, it raised around $200,000 for a seed round, which valued the company at $2 million.²²

In 2016, Kraken’s Series A raised over $12 million at a $38.5 million valuation.²³ This round was led by Hummingbird Ventures, along with investors such as Barry Silbert's Digital Currency Group and Trace Meyer.²⁴

In 2019, Kraken reportedly raised $13.5 million from crowdfunding from over 2,000 investors, pushing the company's valuation above $4 billion.²⁵

Kraken’s Series B occurred in 2020, with a $52.5 million raise at a $5.52 billion valuation.²⁶

Kraken also reportedly sought out a funding round in 2021 that could have approximately doubled or even quadrupled its valuation, but that did not come to fruition.²⁷

Looking ahead

While rumors of a Kraken IPO continue, there has not been any definitively announced plans. It remains to be seen if/when Kraken will actually set an IPO date and hit the public market.

Check back here or take a look at Forge’s upcoming IPO calendar to stay in the loop about a possible Kraken IPO and other pending public offerings.

If you’re interested in investing in private companies like Kraken before they go public, read more about pre-IPO investing or register on Forge Markets today to get started.