Crypto exchange Kraken has closed a new funding round at a $15 billion valuation, bolstering its resources as it prepares for a long-anticipated public listing in 2026, according to a September 25 announcement. The round, finalized in September, was unusual in that no lead investor was appointed as Kraken set the terms itself. Participants included venture capital firms, investment managers, and Tribe Capital, with its CEO Arjun Sethi, also contributing personally.
Kraken $500M Funding Round⚡️
📑 About:@krakenfx is a cryptocurrency exchange that provides spot and futures trading between Bitcoin, Ethereum, and 40+ other digital assets.
🤝 Investors: @tribecap, and @arjunsethi
🏷 Valuation: $15B
👉 https://t.co/0ZJilBXlaV pic.twitter.com/cpYeAKtWAh
— Fundraising Digest (@CryptoRank_VCs) September 26, 2025
This latest round lifts Kraken’s total funding to over $527 million, building on its initial $27 million seed investment.
Despite postponing its IPO to 2026, Kraken continues to demonstrate solid performance. In the second quarter of this year, the exchange generated $411 million in revenue and nearly $80 million in post-EBITDA earnings.
The new valuation secures Kraken’s spot as the second most valuable private crypto exchange, behind Coinbase. Its growth has been accelerated by acquisitions such as the $1.5 billion purchase of NinjaTrader, which brought in two million new users, and by the launch of tokenized stock products branded as “xStocks.”
Leadership and strategy shifts
Kraken’s leadership has undergone notable changes since co-founder Jesse Powell stepped down as CEO in 2022. Arjun Sethi has since taken the reins, emphasizing expansion into tokenized assets and institutional-grade trading tools.
Under Sethi, the company has broadened its retail footprint and introduced new institutional products, including advanced APIs and derivatives. However, the aggressive restructuring has also triggered executive departures and questions about internal morale.
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Market context and IPO landscape
The funding round comes as crypto-related IPOs are regaining momentum, with Circle and Gemini already making their market debuts this year. Kraken’s decision to delay its IPO until 2026 raises questions about whether it can effectively time the next market cycle.
Analysts argue that Kraken’s diversified revenue streams and long-standing industry reputation give it resilience compared to smaller rivals. The successful $500 million raise suggests that investors still see Kraken as a long-term winner in the evolving digital asset space.
Kraken still haven’t gone public
As of August 19, 2026, Kraken/Payward is still privately held. It confidentially filed a draft S-1 with the SEC in November 2025 and initially targeted a Q1 2026 listing, but the company paused the IPO in March 2026 because of difficult market conditions. Reuters confirmed that Kraken was still considering an IPO but was unlikely to proceed until conditions improved.
There have been later reports that Kraken remains interested in going public, but there is no confirmed IPO date and no evidence that its shares are trading publicly. A June 2026 update also described the IPO as paused.
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