Bitcoin exchange Kraken is considering going public in 2022, confirmed by its co-founder and CEO Jesse Powell in an interview CNBC.
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\”We hope that in the next year we will be able to become a public company. It will likely be a direct listing, similar to Coinbase,\” he said.
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The listing of shares of the largest US cryptocurrency company scheduled for April 14.
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Powell also confirmed that Kraken is in talks with investors about a new funding round. After it, the exchange’s valuation could rise to $10 billion.
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\”We had talks about conducting another round, but we slowed down a bit to see what happens with Coinbase’s valuation. I suspect the price will rise far higher than it is trading,\” said the Kraken CEO.
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According to him, the company has a \”good balance sheet\” and the option not to rush with raising capital.
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\”The reason for this is to attract a few strategic investors who can help with geographic expansion and growth,\” Powell said.
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He noted that the exchange has significantly benefited from the Bitcoin rally:
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\”Volatility for us is good, but it’s always better when the price rises. The first quarter left no stone unturned from last year’s results. By the end of February we surpassed last year’s figures. The whole market just exploded.\”
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In January–March, four times more new users joined the platform than in the second half of 2020. Spot trading volumes for the first quarter reached $160 billion — 1.5 times Kraken’s total for the previous year.
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Media reported plans for the exchange’s stock market listing in mid-March. Among the options were a traditional IPO and a SPAC deal.
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