Leading cryptocurrency services firm BlockchainCom is in discussions with U.S. banks in an effort to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) later this year, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
BlockchainCom Plans IPO
The sources, however, stated that the decision to go public could be delayed until 2o23 if the company’s plans change, as earlier revealed by the company’s chief financial officer, Macrina Kgil.
If BlockchainCom decides to carry out its plans, the firm will become the second major crypto company after Coinbase to conduct an IPO in the United States.
Today’s report emerged just a few weeks after the crypto startup reached a $14 billion valuation in a funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with major participation from Baillie Gifford & Co.
More Crypto Firms Plan to Go Public
In April 2021, Coinbase became the first crypto exchange to go public in the U.S., with a NASDAQ direct listing under the thicker COIN.
BlockchainCom has now joined several other major exchanges, including Binance, Kraken and Circle, making moves to follow in Coinbase’s footsteps.
While crypto firms are planning on going public and expanding their services, they continue to face scrutiny from U.S. regulators due to the lack of clearer regulations on cryptocurrencies. The absence of regulatory clarity has left the industry in a state of speculation.
The CEO of Circle, Jeremy Allaire, recently said in an AMA session that the absence of regulatory clarity is one of the factors hampering the growth of the crypto industry.
Last September, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong called for better regulatory clarification of the industry after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) threatened to sue the exchange if it moves ahead with plans to launch its Crypto Lend product.
Meanwhile, in February 2022, MicroStrategy co-founder and popular Bitcoin proponent Michael Saylor said clearer regulations would accelerate the institutional adoption of crypto.
