Six blockbuster crypto IPOs to watch in 2026

Crypto stormed onto Wall Street this year as digital asset businesses raised $3.4 billion through initial public offering rounds, according to DefiLlama data.

Heavy hitters included stablecoin issuer Circle, Peter Thiel-backed trading platform Bullish, blockchain lender Figure, and crypto exchange Gemini. Circle and Bullish both pulled over $1 billion in their offerings.

And the 2026 IPO pipeline is looking even fatter.

“The emerging crypto IPO pipeline points toward a specific category of companies,” Samantha Lewis, partner at early-stage ventures Mercury Fund, told DL News.

The primary targets? Crypto businesses that are serious about risk and compliance.

“The common thread across potential listings is infrastructure that routes capital between traditional balance sheets and onchain markets,” she said.

Here are some of the most anticipated IPOs to watch out for in 2026.

1. Kraken

US crypto exchange Kraken is poised to become the top IPO in the digital asset sector next year.

After confidentially filing an S-1 with the SEC in November 2025, the firm is targeting a public debut in the first half of 2026.

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

Its compliance-first strategy has been key to its expansion, including obtaining a MiCA licence in Europe and launching derivatives trading.

With diversified revenue streams spanning staking and NFTs, Kraken is viewed by many analysts as the cleanest publicly listed alternative to Coinbase.

Co-CEO Arjun Sethi has publicly dodged questions about Kraken’s plans to go public, telling DL News in September that the crypto exchange was in no rush.

2. Consensys

Crypto infrastructure giant Consensys is reportedly working with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on a mid-2026 IPO.

The firm, which operates MetaMask and Infura, is pivoting from a software studio to a high-margin infrastructure provider.

In 2025, MetaMask added native Bitcoin support in a strategic play to consolidate its position as a multi-chain wallet.

With more than 30 million monthly users, according to the company, and a $7 billion valuation, Consensys offers public markets pure crypto-software exposure.

The filing is expected to highlight MetaMask Swaps’ revenue and enterprise traction from Linea, its layer 2 network.

3. BitGo

BitGo is on track to become the first major crypto custodian to list publicly.

The Goldman Sachs-backed company filed an updated S-1A in late 2025, aiming for a Q1 2026 listing after delays caused by the US government shutdown.

BitGo’s revenue has quadrupled over the past 2 years, driven by institutional custody and regulated staking.

Valued at $1.75 billion in the latest assessment, the firm appeals to investors seeking infrastructure plays insulated from trading volatility.

Its positioning as a compliance-heavy, security-first provider has made it a favourite among banks and hedge funds seeking crypto exposure without operational risk.

4. Animoca Brands

Animoca Brands is expected to list on Nasdaq in 2026 via a reverse merger with Currenc Group.

Based in Hong Kong, the firm has built one of the largest Web3 gaming portfolios in the industry, with stakes in dozens of tokenised games and metaverse projects.

In 2025, Animoca streamlined operations and pivoted messaging around digital property rights as its flagship value proposition.

The listing is seen as a test of investor sentiment toward metaverse plays and exposure to gaming-linked tokens.

Animoca’s expected $6 billion valuation hinges on its ability to monetise equity stakes and in-game economies, while navigating complex tokenomics.

5. Ledger

Ledger is preparing for a major 2026 funding round as the crypto security narrative gains traction in the digital asset space, the FT reported.

The French firm says it has sold more than 6 million hardware wallets globally and repositioned itself as a full-stack self-custody platform through its Ledger Live app.

The venture includes recurring revenue products such as seed phrase recovery, software integrations, and institutional-grade device management.

In 2025, Ledger inked new business-to-business deals and doubled down on wallet UX for mobile users, turning its cold storage reputation into a broader consumer fintech offering.

With momentum behind self-custody and distrust of centralised platforms in the crypto community, Ledger pitches itself as the Apple of crypto security.

6. Bithumb

Bithumb is aiming to go public on the South Korean stock exchange by the end of 2025, marking its return to the spotlight after years in Upbit’s shadow.

The Seoul-based exchange regained a 25% market share in 2024 following aggressive zero-fee campaigns and a dramatic rise in marketing spend.

Bithumb has selected Samsung Securities as its underwriter for its IPO.

Once South Korea’s largest exchange, Bithumb was sidelined by hacks and by Upbit’s rise in bank partnerships. Now it’s leaning into localisation, licensing, and altcoin liquidity to maintain its domestic resurgence.

While it has no plans to expand internationally, analysts view the listing as a proxy for Korean crypto demand, where retail dominates, and daily volumes often exceed those of equities.

With 18 million crypto users in the country, Bithumb’s IPO could mark the next phase of institutionalisation for Asia’s most retail-heavy crypto market.

Lance Datskoluo is DL News’ Europe-based markets correspondent. Got a tip? Email atlance@dlnews.com.