Author:yyctrader
Compiled by: Deep潮 TechFlow
DeepOcean Summary: Kraken's co-CEO confirmed at the World Economic Forum in Washington that the company has secretly filed for an IPO, while Germany's largest exchange operator invested $200 million for a 1.5% stake. The valuation stands at $13.3 billion, a 33% decrease from last year's $20 billion funding round, yet traditional financial institutions are still betting on this moment.
Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi confirmed on Tuesday at the Semafor World Economic Meeting in Washington that the cryptocurrency exchange has secretly filed its initial public offering application.
This news comes alongside Deutsche B?rse’s $200 million investment in Payward, Kraken’s parent company, acquiring approximately 1.5% fully diluted equity. The transaction implies a valuation of about $13.3 billion, a 33% decrease from Kraken’s $20 billion valuation during its $800 million funding round in November 2025.
Kraken initially submitted a draft S-1 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2025, one day after securing support from Citadel Securities, Jane Street, and DRW Venture Capital in this funding round. The exchange has not disclosed the planned size or pricing of its offering, stating that terms will be finalized once regulatory review is complete and market conditions are stable.
Sethi said at the conference that the IPO push is part of a broader mission to democratize complex financial instruments. "What they ultimately want is what Citadel and Jane Street have, or what JPMorgan has—they want these things to be accessible to them," he said. "That’s our mission: how do we make all these products available?"
Deutsche B?rse's investment deepens the commercial partnership first announced in December 2025, focusing on integrating Kraken's xStocks tokenized equities platform into Deutsche B?rse's digital assets infrastructure.
Kraken has been actively expanding over the past several months. In October 2025, the exchange launched CME futures trading, enabling users to access traditional commodities and equity index contracts alongside cryptocurrencies. Its xStocks tokenized stocks product surpassed $10 billion in cumulative trading volume in November, and in March, Nasdaq selected Kraken as its settlement layer for its own tokenized stocks initiative.
The regulatory landscape has also shifted sharply in Kraken’s favor. In March 2025, the SEC dropped its lawsuit against the exchange without admitting any wrongdoing, as part of the current administration’s broader retreat from crypto enforcement.
Kraken is the second-largest centralized exchange in the United States, after Coinbase, which went public via a direct listing in 2021.
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