Original author: Tim Craig , DL News
Original translation: Felix, PANews (This article has been edited)
Surging markets under U.S. President Donald Trump and the dawn of a new crypto era have energized crypto companies’ strategies.
The past few years have not been easy for crypto companies.
First, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), under the leadership of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, has sued many companies.
Those companies that are not embroiled in legal disputes face scrutiny over whether crypto assets they issue or offer for trading should be considered securities.
But since Trump took office and Gary resigned, companies including the Winklevoss twins Gemini and Peter Thiel-backed Bullish have hinted at going public.
Here are some of the top crypto companies that are or are considering an IPO.
Circle
Circle, the company behind the $55 billion stablecoin UDSC, attempted to go public in 2022 but failed. It filed an IPO application with the U.S. SEC in January last year.
Now, more than 13 months have passed, and the US SEC is still reviewing Circles application.
Since filing, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire has said repeatedly that the company is committed to going public.
Last September, Allaire announced that his company would move its headquarters to New York ahead of a planned IPO.
“It’s clear we need to plant our flag in the heart of Wall Street, both literally and figuratively,” Allaire tweeted.
A Circle spokesperson declined to comment on the companys IPO registration process, but becoming a public company has always been part of its core strategy.
Kraken
Ever since rival crypto exchange Coinbase held its initial public offering in April 2021, smaller rival Kraken has been eager to follow suit.
Kraken’s then-CEO Jesse Powell said in June of that year that the exchange planned to go public within 18 months.
But Jesse Powell resigned as CEO the following September, and the exchanges IPO plans seemed to be dead.
By 2024, Kraken was considering going public again. Sources told Bloomberg in June that the exchange was considering raising $100 million in a pre-IPO funding round. As of January of this year, Kraken had only raised about $27 million in initial capital.
“We have the choice to raise capital or debt if we choose,” said Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken. “We have all the options for accessing capital, whether we’re a private company or a public company.”
Gemini
Like Kraken, Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange run by Bitcoin billionaires Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, hinted at an IPO as early as 2021.
“We’re definitely looking at it and making sure we have that option,” Cameron Winklevoss told Bloomberg at the time.
A year later, Gemini ultimately shelved the idea as cryptocurrency markets tumbled amid the collapse of Terra Blockchain, crypto lender Celsius, and Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.
Now, the twins are reportedly restarting Geminis IPO plans.
The cryptocurrency exchange and custodian is in talks with potential listing advisers about the listing, anonymous sources told Bloomberg.
Ripple
XRP issuer Ripple is another high-profile company that could go public under the Trump administration.
In 2022, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse told CNBC that Ripple would consider going public once its legal dispute with the SEC over whether the sale of its XRP tokens constituted an illegal securities offering was over.
In 2024, Brad Garlinghouse said the company had explored markets outside the United States for an IPO but ultimately shelved the plan.
Although Judge Analisa Torres ruled last year that XRP is not a security, the SEC has appealed the decision.
Nonetheless, with the protracted legal battle now entering its final stages, Ripple’s long-awaited IPO may be just around the corner.
Bullish
CoinDesk owner and cryptocurrency exchange Bullish is another company that has been eyeing an IPO.
In 2021, the company also announced its intention to go public via a SPAC, but shelved those plans.
After years of rumors of a Bullish IPO, anonymous sources now tell Bloomberg that the exchange is once again considering an initial public offering as early as this year.
BitGo
Bloomberg reported on February 12 that U.S. crypto custody company BitGo is considering an initial public offering (IPO) as early as the second half of 2025. An anonymous person familiar with the matter said the California-based company is in talks with potential advisers about going public as early as the second half of this year.
BitGo completed a $100 million financing in 2023 with a valuation of $1.75 billion. Investors included Goldman Sachs, DRW Holdings, Redpoint Ventures and Valor Equity Partners.
BitGo provides crypto asset custody, trading, lending and other services to more than 1,500 institutional clients in more than 50 countries around the world, and processes approximately 8% of the worlds Bitcoin trading volume.
It’s worth mentioning that there are several more crypto companies expected to go public.
Asset management firm Bitwise said in its 2025 forecast report that crypto technology company Figure, crypto infrastructure company Anchorage Digital and blockchain analysis company Chainalysis are all likely to go public this year.
In addition, crypto infrastructure provider Fireblocks is also considering going public, but it will take longer. We are not in a hurry to go public, Fireblocks CEO Michael Shaulov said in an interview last year. From an optionality perspective, it is definitely something we will consider. Maybe in two or three years.
Related reading: Japanese exchange Coincheck will be listed on Nasdaq, will the Trump administration give more crypto companies the green light for IPOs?
