[Kraken Parent Company Halts Multi-Billion Dollar IPO Plans] According to CoinDesk, Kraken's parent company Payward secretly filed an IPO application with the U.S. SEC last November. However, due to the weakening crypto market following Bitcoin's all-time high, along with valuation pressure and declining trading volumes, the company has recently paused its IPO process, waiting for market conditions to improve before resuming. Payward previously raised $800 million at a valuation of approximately $20 billion, including a $200 million investment from Citadel Securities aimed at advancing blockchain integration in traditional financial markets. In comparison, at least 11 crypto companies, including Circle, Bullish, and Gemini, collectively raised about $14.6 billion through IPOs in 2025. However, since 2026, only the custody firm BitGo has successfully gone public, with its stock price having dropped approximately 44%.