Kraken IPO pushed back to 2027, capping years of delays

On Wednesday, Kraken postponed its initial public offering (IPO) until at least April 2027. For anyone who has lost track of the numerous delays, here is a timeline of the events.

The exchange has been promoting its stock market debut for over five years, and had earlier expressed strong confidence that it would go public in 2022.

In April 2021, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell told CNBC, “We’re looking at being able to go public sometime next year.”

Those plans remain unfulfilled.

By June 2021, Fortune reported that Powell was reconsidering a direct listing after Coinbase’s market entrance. In that article, he adjusted the timeline to the “second half” of 2022.

By September 2022, that forecast looked improbable. Incoming CEO Dave Ripley told a reporter, “No specificity on IPO plans that we can share.”

The year ended with only postponements and no IPO.

In June 2024, Bloomberg reported that Kraken was raising so-called final pre-IPO financing, yet the anticipated offering never occurred.

In March 2025, Bloomberg again reported that Payward — Kraken's parent company — was rescheduling its IPO for the first quarter of 2026.

By November 2025, Payward had submitted a draft IPO registration on Form S-1 to the SEC. Its announcement said an offering would follow SEC review.

Reuters reiterated its first-quarter 2026 forecast.

Kraken IPO saga drags on in 2026

By March 2026, CoinDesk reported that Payward had put the IPO on hold and was unlikely to proceed. Reuters said it could not independently verify the pause, which later proved accurate.

One month later, Kraken urged the public to believe it had not abandoned its IPO plans. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi confirmed formal IPO filings in April 2026, without providing an updated listing date.

At the Consensus conference on May 5, Sethi described Kraken as “about 80% ready” for its IPO, stating, “We’re ready.”

Within two weeks, however, Bloomberg reported that the IPO would be pushed back to 2027.

Wednesday’s CoinDesk report moved the IPO further to the second quarter of 2027.

Kraken shares are still not traded on any public exchange. The IPO has been delayed for almost six years.