Falling interest rates and anticipation of a crypto-friendly regulatory regime in the U.S. are stirring talks of an initial public offering (IPO) boom in the cryptocurrency sector in 2025.
Market experts, such as asset manager Bitwise, expect 2025 to bring a “stampede of crypto unicorn IPOs” due to growing crypto demand from investors, increased institutional adoption, and favorable macroeconomic and political conditions.
What are the top crypto IPOs to watch out for in 2025? Let’s find out.
Key Takeaways
- Stablecoin issuer Circle submitted a statement with the US SEC for an IPO in January 2024.
- The legal battle between Kraken and the SEC is a major roadblock in the crypto exchange’s IPO plans.
- Telegram aims to list publicly once the company is profitable.
- Animoca Brands is looking to list in “crypto-friendly” regions such as Hong Kong and the Middle East.
- Ionic Digital was formed from the bankruptcy proceedings of Celsius Network. The firm aims to list on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.
5 Crypto Companies That Could Go Public in 2025
The crypto IPO list for 2025 includes several big names in the blockchain world, such as Circle, Kraken, and Telegram.
1. Circle
In January 2024, Coinbase-backed stablecoin issuer Circle announced that the company submitted a statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed IPO. At the time, Circle did not disclose details of the deal and said its IPO was “expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process.”
It’s been over a year since the submission, and we have yet to see Circle list its shares in the open market. Market watchers expect a crypto-friendly regime at the US SEC to fast-track the highly anticipated Сircle crypto IPO.
Frank Downing, Director of Research at Ark Invest, said in a newsletter:
“The new Administration seems poised to bring much-needed clarity to the regulation of digital assets in the United States. Among the possibilities are a more crypto-friendly U.S. SEC and the end of Chair Gensler’s ‘regulation by enforcement,’ a re-opening of the IPO window for late-stage digital asset companies like Circle and Kraken, and the passage of long-awaited and much-needed digital assets legislation.”
The stablecoin issuer and its shareholder Coinbase are seen by many as the poster child of compliant crypto companies.
In July 2024, Circle became the first stablecoin issuer to achieve compliance with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. Since the beginning, Circle has marketed its USDC stablecoin as a regulated and transparent digital currency in a bid to gain market share from rival Tether’s USDT.
2. Kraken
In June 2024, Bloomberg reported that crypto exchange Kraken was seeking to raise more than $100 million in pre-IPO funding despite being involved in a legal spat with the U.S. SEC on accusations that the company “unlawfully” facilitated the trading of crypto asset securities and commingled customer funds.
As of late January 2025, the legal battle between Kraken and the SEC was still running. In a major setback for the crypto exchange, on January 24, 2025, a California federal judge dismissed Kraken’s defense that crypto transactions conducted on its platform did not fall within the SEC’s regulatory purview.
Commenting on potential Kraken crypto IPO in 2025, Bitwise Asset Management said in the latest report:
“As one of the largest U.S.-based crypto exchanges, Kraken has been considering an IPO since at least 2021. The company’s plans were delayed due to market conditions but could gain traction again in 2025.”
3. Telegram
Social media and instant messaging platform Telegram has endeared itself with the crypto community by integrating blockchain solutions and crypto wallets within its application.
Telegram’s association with the crypto industry dates back to 2019 when the company launched a public blockchain named Telegram Open Network (TON). However, Telegram ceased work on the TON blockchain after the SEC sued the company for issuing crypto tokens to investors.
TON is currently being developed open-source by its community. Telegram, on the other hand, has not completely abandoned its relationship with the crypto network. In February 2024, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced that the platform will “exclusively” use the TON blockchain for its revenue-sharing program.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Durov hinted that Telegram was exploring an IPO in the future “as a means to democratize access to Telegram’s value.” The news agency reported, citing internal sources, that Telegram is aiming for a U.S. listing once the company becomes profitable.
4. Animoca Brands
Animoca Brands is a Hong Kong-based web3 investment firm and gaming developer that aims to go public in 2025. According to a report by The Information, the company known for its metaverse and gaming offerings is considering “crypto-friendly” markets such as Hong Kong and the Middle East for its potential IPO.
Animoca Brands was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) from 2015 to 2020. In March 2020, the company was forced to delist after failing to comply with listing rules, such as maintaining continuous disclosures.
According to a quarterly report, the company’s business model comprises digital asset advisory services, web3 applications and platforms, and investment management. The company also builds web3 and blockchain applications for institutions such as NEOM and is working on stablecoins and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN).
5. Ionic Digital
Ionic Digital is a Bitcoin mining company that was formed in January 2024 following the reorganization of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network.
The newly formed company acquired Celsius’ Bitcoin mining assets, and its stock was issued to Celsius’ creditors as part of the bankruptcy plan. The plan also required Ionic Digital to become a publicly traded company to provide shareholders with liquidity options. The company plans to list on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.
In a letter to shareholders on January 14, 2025, Ionic Digital’s interim CEO Anthony McKiernan reiterated the company’s plan to list publicly and said its financial audit is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2025.
McKiernan added that Ionic Digital held 2,461 BTC (worth $248.1 million at the time of writing) in its treasury as of January 2025.
The Bottom Line
Several others, such as blockchain-powered financial services company Figure, institutional-focused crypto platform Anchorage Digital, and data analytics company Chainalysis, are tipped to list their shares in the public market in 2025.
In the meantime, industry heavyweights like global crypto exchange Binance and stablecoin issuer Tether have distanced themselves from IPO speculation.
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References
- Circle Submits Draft Registration Statement for Proposed IPO (Circle)
- Circle is First Global Stablecoin Issuer to Comply with MiCA (Circle)
- Bloomberg – Are you a robot? (Bloomberg)
- SEC.gov | SEC Charges Kraken for Operating as an Unregistered Securities Exchange, Broker, Dealer, and Clearing Agency (Sec)
- United States District Court Northern District of California (Storage.courtlistener)
- Bitwise The Year Ahead 10 Crypto Predictions for 2025 (S3.us-east-1.amazonaws)
- SEC.gov | Telegram to Return $1.2 Billion to Investors and Pay $18.5 Million Penalty to Settle SEC Charges (Sec)
- Telegram: Contact @durov (T)
- Telegram hits 900mn users and nears profitability as founder considers IPO (Ft)
- Animoca Brands (ASX:AB1) delisted from ASX | The Market Online (Themarketonline.com)
- Animoca Brands investor update for the quarter ending on 31 March 2024 (Animocabrands)
- Animoca Brands and NEOM announce strategic partnership and investment to drive regional Web3 development (Animocabrands)
- Press Release – Ionic Digital (Ionicdigital)