Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi confirmed Tuesday that the cryptocurrency exchange has filed confidentially for an initial public offering with the SEC.
Sethi made the disclosure at the Semafor World Economy summit in Washington, D.C. The filing had first been submitted around November 2025, shortly after Kraken raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation.
Valuation Slides as IPO Plans Hold
An April 2026 investment round valued Kraken at $13.3 billion, roughly a 33% decline from its late-2025 peak. The round involved a $200 million secondary share purchase by Deutsche Börse Group, the operator of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
The deal gives Deutsche Börse a roughly 1.5% fully diluted stake and is expected to close in Q2 2026. It builds on a strategic partnership announced in December 2025, focused on bridging traditional finance and crypto through trading, custody, and tokenized assets.
Kraken had previously paused its public listing plans in March 2026 because of difficult market conditions. Sethi’s comments suggest the confidential filing remains active while the company waits for a more favorable window.
Sethi Outlines Retail Trading Mission
At the summit, Sethi framed Kraken’s broader ambition as making institutional-grade tools available to everyday traders.
“What they want at the end of the day is what Citadel and Jane Street have, or JPMorgan has, and they want it accessible to them. That’s our mission: How do we make all these products open?” Semafor reported, citing Arjun Sethi, Kraken co-CEO.
The exchange has made several moves to support that vision, including its acquisition of NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion and securing direct Federal Reserve master account access earlier this year.
Those steps position Kraken alongside a growing wave of crypto firms pursuing public listings in 2026.
Whether Kraken moves forward with its IPO may depend on how quickly market sentiment recovers in the months ahead.
The post Kraken Confirms Confidential IPO Filing Despite Valuation Drop appeared first on BeInCrypto.
