Kraken Eyes $500M Funding Round at $15B Valuation as IPO Plans Take Shape

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is pursuing $500 million in fresh funding at a $15 billion valuation, people familiar with the matter told The Information, marking a significant step up from its previous $11 billion price tag in 2022.

Kraken Is Building IPO Runway

The funding round comes as the 14-year-old crypto platform prepares for a potential initial public offering (IPO) as early as the first quarter of 2026. The company has been building momentum under co-CEO Arjun Sethi, who joined from Tribe Capital, while publicly releasing financial metrics that show $1.5 billion in revenue last year.

Kraken'sfundraising efforts reflect the broader appetite for crypto investments amid regulatory tailwinds under the Trump administration. The exchange currently processes around $1.37 billion in daily trading volume across more than 1,100 trading pairs, roughly half the volume of its primary U.S. rival Coinbase.

The timing appears strategic, with crypto companies seeing massive public market gains this year. Circle, the issuer of USDC stablecoin, jumped 484% since its June IPO debut at $31, closing Tuesday above $181. Trading platform eToro gained over 16% since its May Nasdaq listing, while Coinbase shares have surged 50% year-to-date.

Expansion Push

Kraken has been actively investing in growth initiatives. In March, the company announced plans to acquire futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion. The exchange also launched a peer-to-peer payments app called "Krak" in June, allowing users to send both fiat and cryptocurrency across borders.

The company secured regulatory approval to expand across the European Union under the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, providing another growth avenue as it prepares for public markets.

The exchange’s latest move also includes offering tokenized U.S. stocks on the Solana blockchain, a plan first mentioned in May and implemented by the end of June. The platform now provides access to 60 tokenized Wall Street stocks, tradable 24/5, with plans to expand the offering over time. Similar to other exchanges offering such solutions, Kraken is partnering with xStocks, powered by Swiss issuer Backed

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Sector-Wide IPO Wave

Kraken joins a growing list of crypto companies eyeing public debuts. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped several enforcement actions against crypto firms under the Trump administration, including a long-running securities violation lawsuit against Kraken in March.

Other companies signaling IPO plans include Ripple, Gemini, Galaxy Digital, Grayscale, and Bullish. The regulatory shift has created what many see as a more favorable environment for crypto companies to access public capital markets.

The current fundraising environment for crypto and AI startups has been particularly robust, with investors showing strong appetite for companies with compelling growth stories in either sector.

As Reuters stated, the Kraken spokesperson declined to comment on the funding discussions.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

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