Kraken Upcoming IPO: Crypto exchange files to go public

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, investors have taken interest in companies like Kraken, with this crypto exchange reaching a $20 billion valuation based on funding from Citadel Securities, announced on November 18th 2025.³ The following day, Kraken announced that it had confidentially filed its S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a step companies typically take ahead of a potential IPO.⁴

While Kraken has not specified an exact IPO timeline, Bloomberg reported in March 2025 — long before the S-1 announcement — that Kraken was looking to go public as soon as the first quarter of 2026, given the more crypto-friendly regulatory environment under the Trump administration.⁵ Reuters also reported in October 2025 that Kraken was targeting a Q1 2026 IPO.⁶ Even if that doesn't pan out so quickly, a 2026 IPO seems to be on the table, with Reuters also reporting that crypto firms in general are looking to go public before the November 2026 midterms.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 600 different cryptocurrencies.¹⁰ In addition to spot trading, it offers margin, futures and index services, among others.

The company started in San Francisco¹¹ but moved its global headquarters to Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 2025.¹² 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.¹³

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 its most recently disclosed financial data, Kraken's Q3 2025 revenue hit $648 million, up 114% year over year. It also grew the number of funded accounts on the platform from 3.5 million in Q3 2024 to 5.2 million in Q3 2025, a 46% annual gain. Meanwhile, its adjusted EBITDA went from a -$6.8 million loss in Q3 2024 to a $178.6 million gain in Q3 2025.¹⁴

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.¹⁵ Also, Kraken recently announced that it agreed to acquire Backed Finance,¹⁶ which has previously helped Kraken launch tokenized versions of major U.S. stocks like Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia for global investors outside the U.S.¹⁷ 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.¹⁸

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.¹⁹

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."²⁰ However, this lawsuit was dropped in March 2025,²¹ 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 $38.56 as of early January 2026, which is about a 117% increase over the past year.²² 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 on Forge.

This jump in Kraken's Forge Price has slightly 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 94.7% over the past year.²³

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.²⁴

In 2016, Kraken’s Series A raised over $12 million at a $38.5 million valuation.²⁵ This round was led by Hummingbird Ventures, along with investors such as Barry Silbert's Digital Currency Group and Trace Meyer.²⁶

In 2019, Kraken reportedly raised $13.5 million from crowdfunding from over 2,000 investors, pushing the company's valuation above $4 billion.²⁷

Kraken’s Series B occurred in 2020, with a $52.5 million raise at a $5.52 billion valuation.²⁸

It wasn't until September 2025 that Kraken had its next primary funding round, when its Series C raised $500 million at a $15 billion valuation.²⁹

Most recently, in November 2025, Kraken announced that it raised $800 million across two segments. The primary raise included investors such as Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital, and Tribe Capital, as well as investment from Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi’s family office. The second tranche of this funding included a $200 million investment from Citadel Securities at a $20 billion valuation.³⁰

Looking ahead

While Kraken has confidentially filed its S-1, it's unclear exactly when the company intends to IPO. 

Readers may check back here or take a look at Forge’s upcoming IPO calendar to stay in the loop about Kraken's IPO timeline and other pending public offerings. 

For now, as it remains private, interested investors can learn more about how to invest in Kraken pre-IPO. Those looking to buy shares of Kraken, or other crypto startups, may also read Forge’s buyer’s guide to investing in private market shares. 

Finally, if you're interested in exploring private market opportunities through a marketplace like Forge, you can create an account to get started.