Kraken IPO Accelerates: Crypto Exchange Targets Q3 Market Debut Amid Volatile Valuation

Kraken, the cryptocurrency exchange, is advancing toward a Q3 initial public offering despite a significant valuation gap, with co-CEO Arjun Sethi dismissing extreme fears about AI's impact on SaaS companies. The move comes after an April investment round valued the firm at $13.3 billion—substantially below its late 2025 peak of $20 billion, signaling both ambition and market recalibration in the digital asset sector.

Kraken opens up advanced trading tools for regular investors

Arjun said Kraken wants users to get access to the same kind of trading options that major institutions already use. He said, “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.”

He then added, “That’s our mission: How do we make all these products open? We want to be able to help enable what you want to do with your own capital.”

Meanwhile, Deutsche Börse AG agreed to invest $200 million in Payward Inc., the parent company of Kraken, by buying existing shares. The deal gives the German exchange operator a 1.5% fully diluted stake. It is expected to close in the second quarter, pending regulatory approval. The identity of the seller was not disclosed.

The transaction also put a new number on Kraken’s value. Based on Bloomberg calculations, the company is worth about $13.3 billion in this deal. That is below the $20 billion valuation tied to a November share sale, but it still places Kraken among the biggest companies in crypto as it works toward going public as soon as this year.

The Deutsche Börse investment followed a partnership the two companies announced in December. It also came as more old-school financial companies increased their bets on digital assets. Earlier this year, Intercontinental Exchange Inc., the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, invested about $200 million in crypto exchange OKX. That shows how major market operators are now putting real money into crypto platforms instead of treating the sector like a sideshow.

Thomas Book, a member of Deutsche Börse’s management board, said, “It’s a perfect partner for us to further accelerate on this path of creating a fully hybrid market infrastructure.” He also said, “Irrespective of what is now the form of an asset whether it’s tokenized or fully digital we want to create one integrated value chain.”

Kraken has direct access to Fedwire after cutting out partner banks

Back in March, Kraken received a limited purpose account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. That made it the first digital asset bank with direct access to the US central bank’s payment infrastructure. The account lets Kraken move money on rails that have usually been reserved for licensed banks.

That matters because crypto companies and fintech companies have usually needed partner banks for this kind of access. Those banking partners also tend to handle important compliance systems such as anti-money laundering monitoring. With this approval, Kraken can now settle directly on Fedwire without using an intermediary bank. The company said Kraken Financial will roll this out in phases, starting with support for institutional client activity.

The approval also landed during a broader fight. Crypto companies seeking access under US banking rules have faced pushback from lenders, which argue that crypto and fintech groups should not get direct entry to payment systems like Fedwire. That has turned into a bigger battle over who controls access to the core of the US payments system.

Kraken operates under a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution charter, also known as an SPDI, which was introduced in 2019 for the digital asset industry.

SPDIs are full-reserve banks that take deposits and can handle custody, asset servicing, and asset management.

In 2022, the Federal Reserve Board created a tiered framework for reviewing master account applications. Kraken Financial is listed as a Tier 3 applicant, which faces the strictest level of review.

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