Kraken’s chasing a $15 billion valuation while scrambling to raise $500 million before its planned Q1 2026 IPO. That’s a 36% jump from their 2022 valuation of $11 billion. The crypto exchange pulled in $411.6 million in Q2 2025 revenue, up 18% year-over-year, with trading volumes hitting $186.8 billion. They’re banking on a 10x price-to-sales multiple from projected $1.5 billion in 2024 revenue. The full picture reveals their ambitious expansion strategy.
While most companies might be content with an $11 billion valuation, Kraken apparently thinks that’s chump change. The crypto exchange is gunning for a $15 billion valuation, seeking $500 million in funding ahead of a rumored 2026 IPO. Because why settle for billions when you can have more billions?
This represents a 36% bump from their 2022 valuation of $11 billion. Not exactly pocket change territory. Kraken has been chasing this $15 billion dream since 2021, when they were already fundraising in the $10-20 billion range. Persistent? Sure. Ambitious? Absolutely.
The math behind this valuation target is straightforward enough. Kraken is banking on a 10x price-to-sales multiple based on projected $1.5 billion in revenue for 2024. Simple multiplication, really. This $15 billion benchmark also helps set the stage for comparing valuations with Binance, the crypto world’s heavyweight champion. The company’s recent NinjaTrader acquisition marks a strategic entry into futures trading.
Bloomberg reports Kraken is eyeing a public debut as early as Q1 2026, riding the wave of a supposedly more crypto-friendly regulatory environment. The timing follows other crypto platforms like eToro and Circle making their public market moves. Nothing like following the crowd, right?
Recent financial performance shows mixed signals. Q2 2025 revenue hit $411.6 million, up 18% year-over-year. Trading volume reached $186.8 billion, also up 19%. Assets on the platform surged 47% to $43.2 billion. The company achieved an adjusted EBITDA of $80 million, highlighting its operational profitability despite market volatility.
Sounds impressive until you look at adjusted earnings, which dropped 7% to $79.7 million. Growth with shrinking profits. Classic tech company math.
Kraken currently handles about $1.37 billion in daily trading volume across 1,100+ trading pairs. That’s roughly half of what Coinbase does with their $2.77 billion daily volume. Being second place isn’t terrible, but it’s still second place. The exchange serves 15 million registered users, positioning it as a significant player in the crypto space despite trailing behind industry giants.
The company is expanding aggressively beyond crypto into stocks and tokenized assets. They’ve secured a MiCA license for European expansion and launched a peer-to-peer payments app called “Krak.” Their stablecoin-to-fiat market share jumped from 43% to 68%, which is actually pretty solid.
Whether investors will bite on that $15 billion price tag remains to be seen. But Kraken seems determined to find out.
