In April 2021, something remarkable happened in the financial market. Coinbase Global Inc. became the first major crypto firm that established itself as an Initial Public Offering (IPO). This means that the company opened up its stock offerings to the public, or in this case, the U.S. stock market, paving the way for other crypto IPOs.
The event opened the door for retail investors to gain exposure to the crypto economy. As a result, you should expect the number of crypto IPOs to rise over the next few years, a clear sign to begin capitalizing on this trend while still in its early stages.
Thanks to the Coinbase IPO, more crypto-oriented startups are projected to go public. This reinforces the corporate adoption of Bitcoin, with companies offering crypto ATMs to blockchain-based satellites. What's more, over twelve such entities are ready to take the next step of becoming publicly-traded companies.
However, one thing that remains unpredictable is the way these startups will be going public. Coinbase stocks didn't debut as a conventional IPO but as a direct listing. Kraken Exchange, a competitor to Coinbase, is reported to be taking the same route.
However, despite Coinbase’s new development, you should expect crypto companies to opt for direct listings instead of IPOs. Other startups are expected to take the SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) route.
In this article, we will be looking at the crypto companies we think could be going public. That said, a lot can change about these startups before they get to the public market. Some of them may be bought by or merged with other companies before reaching the IPO stage as experiencing roadblocks are no stranger to entering Wall Street. Regardless, these companies are big catalysts for Bitcoin in 2021.
Starting off our list of crypto IPOs is Ripple, a startup located in San Francisco, California. It was established in 2012 and has an estimated current value of $10 billion.
The company provides quick and reliable payment services to individual financial institutions and businesses via the XRP cryptocurrency network. As of 2020, the company already had the intention to launch its IPO in 2021.
However, in December 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple for developing XRP. While this has cast doubt over their plans for becoming a public listing, you should expect Ripple to go public if it wins the suit.
Circle is a company located in Boston, MA. It was founded in 2013 and presently has an estimated value of $3 billion.
The company offers a global payment service through its cryptocurrency foundation. In late 2018, Circle released Stablecoin USDC together with Coinbase.
Circle claims to serve about 10 million retail customers along with over 1000 businesses. The company's network also includes NFTs.
Also known as New York Digital Investment Group, NYDIG was established in the Empire state in 2017. The company offers several financial services to both individuals and businesses via its crypto platform.
NYDIG's value is currently unknown but it has raised venture capital worth $405 million. It is owned by Stone Ridge Holding Group and backed by several reputable names such as Liberty Mutual Insurance and Morgan Stanley.
BlockFi is an alternative banking company located in Jersey City, NJ. It was established in 2017 and currently has an estimated value of $3 billion.
The company was launched as a replacement for traditional banks where customers receive a healthy interest for holding their assets on the platform. In addition to this, BlockFi supports the trading of nine different cryptocurrencies.
Customers can also apply for loans using crypto assets as collateral.
BlockFi has recently been using funds to increase its global presence. In 2020, the firm's CEO Zac Prince stated that it could go public in the latter part of 2021.
Gemini Trust Co., which was founded in New York in 2014, is a crypto exchange platform owned by the Winklevoss twins.
The duo has made waves in the media by suing the founder of Facebook for stealing their idea. After winning a major settlement, they invested in Bitcoin.
In an interview with Bloomberg, the twins declared that they will be taking Gemini public.
Kraken was launched in San Francisco, California in 2012. It has an estimated value of $10 billion and is currently regarded as the fourth biggest crypto platform in the world, putting it near the top of our rankings for crypto IPOs.
Kraken experienced immense growth during the recent crypto bull market. In the first quarter of 2021, the company's customer base quadrupled in 2020.
Speaking to CNBC, Kraken's CEO Jesse Powell stated that he was considering taking the company public in 2022.
Founded in Menlo Park, California in 2013, Robinhood Markets is a finance company with an estimated value of $40 billion.
Though the company started as a stock-trading app for new investors, cryptocurrencies have since been added to the platform. While it’s safe to say that the majority of Robinhood users aren’t actually “using” their cryptocurrency holdings, the crypto business has been booming recently with the company stating that over 9 million crypto traders used the platform in Q1 of 2021.
DOGE made some big headlines in 2021 thanks to Robinhood’s ability to trade the coin on their platform.
In March 2021, Robinhood privately filed for IPO. Though a date hasn't been set, the Robinhood IPO should happen this year.
The top choice on our list of crypto IPOs is Exodus Movement. This project was founded in Nebraska City in 2015 and has a current estimated value of $710 million.
The shares cost $27.42 with sales starting back in April. Shares can only be bought with cryptocurrencies such as USDC Stablecoin, Bitcoin, and Ethereum.
Exodus is a wallet that enables customers to save and exchange cryptocurrencies. To an extent, the company moved ahead of Coinbase in the crypto IPO race by making its shares available to the public through SEC Regulation A+.
And there you have it, the top eight crypto companies that we predict will soon be going public and certainly among the key players of crypto this year. Other notable crypto startups include Chainysis, Fireblocks, FalconX, and Bitpay, with foreign-based companies such as MicroBT, Blockchain.com, and Bitmain projected to be heading in similar directions.
Disclaimer: Results may vary. This article is for general informational purposes only and is not a promise of any result.