Six Major Cryptocurrency IPOs to Watch in 2026

Author | Lance Datskoluo, DL News

In 2025, the crypto industry made a strong debut on Wall Street. According to DefiLlama data, digital asset companies raised a total of $3.4 billion through initial public offerings (IPOs).

Heavyweight companies in this space include stablecoin issuer Circle, Peter Thiel-backed trading platform Bullish, blockchain lending institution Figure, and cryptocurrency exchange Gemini. Both Circle and Bullish raised over $1 billion in their IPOs.

The IPO projects preparing for 2026 appear to be even larger.

"The emerging crypto IPO projects point to a very specific type of company," said Samantha Lewis, a partner at early-stage venture capital firm Mercury Fund, to DL News.

Who are the main targets? Crypto companies that place a high emphasis on risk management and compliance.

"The common characteristic of these potential public companies is the infrastructure that can efficiently transmit capital between traditional balance sheets and on-chain markets," she stated.

Here are some of the most anticipated potential crypto IPOs for 2026.

1. Kraken

U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is expected to become the largest IPO in the digital asset space next year.

The company secretly submitted its S-1 filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in November 2025, aiming to complete its listing in the first half of 2026.

Kraken doubled its revenue in 2024 to $1.5 billion and achieved a valuation of $20 billion in a late-stage financing round led by Citadel Securities.

With a "compliance-first" core strategy, Kraken has driven its global expansion, including obtaining a MiCA license in Europe and launching derivatives trading.

With a diversified revenue structure that includes staking, NFTs, and more, many analysts view Kraken as the "cleanest" crypto listing target aside from Coinbase.

Co-CEO Arjun Sethi has previously avoided questions about the listing plans and stated to DL News in September that Kraken is not in a hurry to go public.

2. Consensys

Crypto infrastructure giant Consensys is reportedly collaborating with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to prepare for an IPO in mid-2026.

The company operates MetaMask and Infura and is transitioning from a "software studio" to a high-margin infrastructure provider.

In 2025, MetaMask added native Bitcoin support, a strategic move to solidify its position as a multi-chain wallet.

According to the company, it has over 30 million monthly active users and is valued at approximately $7 billion, providing pure crypto software company exposure to the public market.

Its prospectus is expected to focus on the revenue situation of MetaMask Swaps and the adoption progress of its Layer 2 network Linea on the enterprise side.

3. BitGo

BitGo is poised to become the first publicly listed major crypto custodian.

The Goldman Sachs-backed company submitted an updated S-1A filing at the end of 2025, after its IPO plans were delayed due to a U.S. government shutdown, now aiming for a listing in the first quarter of 2026.

Over the past two years, BitGo's revenue has quadrupled, primarily benefiting from the expansion of institutional-grade custody services and compliant staking.

In its most recent valuation assessment, BitGo was valued at approximately $1.75 billion, appealing to investors looking to invest in crypto infrastructure without direct exposure to trading volatility.

With a core positioning of "strong compliance and security," it has become a popular choice for banks and hedge funds seeking crypto exposure while avoiding operational risks.

4. Animoca Brands

Animoca Brands is expected to go public on Nasdaq in 2026 through a reverse merger with Currenc Group.

The Hong Kong-based company has built one of the largest Web3 gaming investment portfolios in the industry, holding stakes in dozens of tokenized games and metaverse projects.

In 2025, Animoca streamlined its operational structure and shifted its brand narrative focus to the core value proposition of "digital ownership."

This listing is seen as a critical test to gauge investor interest in the metaverse concept and gaming tokens.

Animoca is expected to achieve a valuation of $6 billion, and its ability to reach this goal will depend on its monetization capabilities for equity investments and in-game economic systems, as well as its management of complex token economic models.

5. Ledger

According to the Financial Times, Ledger is preparing for a significant round of financing in 2026, benefiting from the growing focus on security narratives in the digital asset space.

The French company stated that it has sold over 6 million hardware wallets globally and has repositioned itself as a full-stack self-custody platform through the Ledger Live app.

Its business has expanded into several recurring revenue products, including mnemonic recovery services, software integration, and institutional-grade device management.

In 2025, Ledger signed multiple B2B partnership agreements and increased its investment in mobile wallet user experience, expanding the traditional advantages of "cold storage" into a broader range of consumer-level fintech products.

Amid a resurgence of self-custody concepts and declining trust in centralized platforms within the crypto community, Ledger positions itself as the "Apple of crypto security."

6. Bithumb

Bithumb plans to go public on the Korea Exchange by the end of 2025, marking its return to the spotlight after being overshadowed by Upbit for years.

The Seoul-based exchange regained 25% market share in 2024 through an aggressive zero-fee strategy and significantly increased marketing investments.

Bithumb has chosen Samsung Securities as its underwriter for the IPO.

Once the largest exchange in South Korea, the company was marginalized due to multiple hacking incidents and the rise of Upbit's partnerships with banks. Now, Bithumb is consolidating its domestic recovery momentum through localization strategies, licensing compliance, and altcoin liquidity.

Although Bithumb currently has no plans for international expansion, analysts believe that this listing will serve as an important proxy for crypto demand in South Korea—where daily trading volumes for cryptocurrencies often exceed those of the stock market in this retail-dominated market.

With 18 million crypto users in South Korea, Bithumb's IPO may signify the entry of the highest retail proportion crypto market in Asia into a new phase of institutionalization.