Crypto fintech firm Blockchain.com is holding talks with several banks for an initial public offering IPO that might take off as early as this year, as per sources familiar with the matter. The discussions are in their initial stage as they might get pushed back to the next year if there is a change in the company’s plan, Bloomberg reported.
At the time of writing this post, there was no official comment from the representatives of the startup firm.
Conceived in 2011 UK, Blockchain.com began its journey as the first Bitcoin blockchain explorer 10 years ago and later transitioned into a cryptocurrency wallet provider that allows users to buy and store digital tokens such as Bitcoin.
Besides that, it also operates a cryptocurrency exchange. The firm is led by CEO Peter Smith, one of its three founders.
Last month, Blockchain.com said that it was valued at about $14 billion in a funding round. The financing round was spearheaded by Lightspeed Venture Partners with major participation from Baillie Gifford & Co., Blockchain.com said.
If succeeded in going public with an IPO, the firm would be only the second crypto exchange in the U.S. to accomplish the feat. Its rival Coinbase Global Inc became the first crypto entity to go live in 2021 at an opening price of $381 per share of COIN with a valuation of roughly $100 billion.
Crypto Firms Racing ahead for an IPO despite regulatory bottlenecks
Several crypto firms are mulling plans for an IPO but regulatory complications often act as roadblocks. For Instance, Texas-based, Rhodium Enterprises, was the first crypto firm to announce IPO plans this year, filing for its offering in late January, only to postpone it days later.
A few weeks ago, Enterprise blockchain firm Applied Blockchain also filed to sell $60 million of shares in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. It is offering about 3.2 million shares at an estimated mean price of $18.54, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC].
The firm intends to use the money to secure sites for new co-hosting facilities, develop those facilities, and enter into energy service agreements, among other uses, it said in the filing.