Popular cryptocurrency exchange Kraken closed a $500 million funding round, setting the stage for a long-awaited IPO now expected in 2026, Fortune reported. The round did not feature a lead investor and was closed on Kraken’s terms valuing the firm at $15 billion, Fortune said, citing a person who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Backers included investment managers, venture capitalists and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi, who also participated via his Tribe Capital investment firm.
Founded in 2011, Kraken had reportedly raised only $27 million in venture capital funding until this year. It generated $411 million in revenue and nearly $80 million in post-Ebitda earnings in the second quarter, according to the report. Much of Kraken’s transformation over the last year has been steered by Sethi, who, despite sharing the CEO title with Dave Ripley, is widely seen as the company’s strategic leader.
Under him, Kraken acquired U.S. futures platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, expanding its customer base by 2 million and bolstering its presence in traditional finance. Behind the scenes, Kraken has seen a wave of executive turnover, with four senior executives recently leaving the company as it trims jobs ahead of the planned initial public offering.
