Falling interest rates and a crypto-friendly SEC have VCs on the hunt for liquidity events
In the aftermath of the 2024 elections, venture capitalists are hoping to up the pace of initial public offerings (IPOs) by leading US crypto firms.
Analysts at crypto asset manager Bitwise expect 2025 to ‘be the year of the crypto IPO,’ driven by investor demand, increased institutional adoption, and a favorable regulatory environment.
Now that a pro-crypto SEC is set to provide clarity on rules governing digital assets and their place in the US financial system, VCs looking for liquidity events could have at least five IPOs to choose from.
Firms in the spotlight include Animoca Brands, Telegram, Ionic Digital, Kraken, and Circle, with any or all potentially going public in the coming months. Circle filed its IPO plans with the SEC in January 2024 while the others have been the subject of active — and persistent — speculation.
If they happen, it would be a notable turnaround from the market pall cast by former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, a steadfast crypto-skeptic who triggered a swathe of enforcement actions during his tenure against industry heavyweights like Binance and Coinbase.
As Bitcoin prepares for its next rise and risk-on sentiment returns, VCs looking for exits may see their chance. These five firms have a fair shot at success:
1. Circle
In January 2024, Coinbase-backed stablecoin issuer Circle announced that the company had submitted a statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed IPO. Details of the deal weren’t disclosed, although the filing did say that the IPO was “expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process.”
More than a year later, Circle has yet to go public. Analysts, however, expect the SEC’s new leadership to fast-track the highly anticipated Сircle crypto IPO.
Frank Downing, Director of Research at Ark Invest, wrote in a recent newsletter that 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.”
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 it was 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 regulators over 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.
An investor note from Bitwise notes that Kraken has been considering an IPO “since at least 2021.
‘Market conditions have delayed the company’s plans but they could be back on the table in 2025.’
3. Telegram
Social media and instant messaging platform Telegram has endeared itself to crypto users by integrating blockchain services and crypto wallets.
Telegram’s association with the crypto industry dates back to 2019 when the company launched a public blockchain named Telegram Open Network (TON). Work on the TON blockchain ceased, however, after the SEC sued the company for issuing crypto tokens to investors.
TON is currently being developed open-source by its community, but Telegram hasn’t abandoned the network. In February 2024, founder Pavel Durov announced that the company would “use TON “exclusively for our revenue-sharing program.”
Durov told the Financial Times that Telegram was exploring an IPO in the future “as a means to democratize access to Telegram’s value.”
4. Animoca Brands
Animoca Brands is a Hong Kong-based web3 investment firm and gaming developer that aims to go public in 2025. Media reports have said the company has been looking at “crypto-friendly” markets such as Hong Kong and the Middle East to launch a potential IPO.
Animoca Brands was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) from 2015 to 2020. It was forced to delist in March 2020 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. Animoca 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.
Several other crypto firms, such as blockchain-powered financial services company Figure, institutional-focused crypto platform Anchorage Digital, and data analytics company Chainalysis, have also been widely tipped to go public in 2025.
On the flipside, industry heavyweights like global crypto exchange Binance and stablecoin issuer Tether have distanced themselves from IPO speculation.
