Blockchain.com Group Holdings has informed potential investors that it aims to complete its U.S. listing within the year, planning to raise approximately $500 million with a target valuation of $4 billion to $6 billion. Insiders have indicated that a smaller financing round could be acceptable if market conditions are unfavorable.

The company submitted a confidential S-1 draft to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 21, intending to issue Class A common stock, with the number of shares and price range yet to be determined. The listing will depend on market conditions and the review process. Headquartered in Dallas, the company started in 2011 as blockchain.info and later expanded into wallets, exchanges, and institutional services, employing about 500 people and claiming to have been profitable on an adjusted basis for three consecutive years.

The valuation path has significantly declined: a funding round in March 2022 reached $14 billion, while a $110 million Series E round led by Kingsway Capital in November 2023 was marked at $7 billion. The current roadshow range of $4 billion to $6 billion implies a discount relative to the last private placement. The company has facilitated over $1.1 trillion in on-chain and trading flows, with publicly reported wallet numbers between 94 million and 100 million, and verified accounts around 43 million to 44 million, covering over 100 countries.

Recently, the business has extended into securitized products. On September 23, it signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the New York Stock Exchange to allow its users to trade tokenized versions of U.S. stocks and ETFs through the planned digital alternative trading system, pending regulatory approval. The two parties will also exchange market data: Intercontinental Exchange will distribute its crypto data, while Blockchain.com will integrate NYSE and ICE market data into its applications. The company has partnered with Ondo to offer tokenized securities outside the U.S., launched SnapMarkets prediction markets in May, and collaborated with Polymarket in July to expand tradable event contracts.

In comparison, the industry is experiencing a mixed wave of crypto listings. By 2025, companies like Circle, eToro, Bullish, and Gemini are expected to raise a combined total of approximately $14.6 billion; Kraken, Ledger, Consensys, and Grayscale are still in the pipeline. Reports indicate that Gemini's stock price has significantly retreated from its offering price, becoming a discount anchor during buyer inquiries. Blockchain.com’s co-CEOs are founder Peter Smith and Lane Kasselman, who will be promoted in 2025, while CFO Justin Evans comes from Goldman Sachs' crypto investment banking division.

From a market mechanism perspective, this is a window trade rather than a product blockbuster-driven approach. Buyers are looking for listed entities with brand recognition and wallet volume when the crypto sector thaws; sellers need to provide exits for private investors since 2011 and attach public market valuation metrics to the narrative of tokenized securities. Funds are flowing from the primary market at a discount to cash and shares in the prospectus. Beneficiaries are the old shareholders who can lock in liquidity in the $4 billion to $6 billion range; those under pressure are later-stage investors still accounting for $7 billion on paper, and management that must prove the quality of "adjusted profitability" with public financial numbers. The recovery of crypto trading volume will determine pricing elasticity, and the NYSE memorandum only provides a narrative, not realized revenue.

Supplementary data: Publicly disclosed cumulative financing is approximately $1.1 billion, with investors including Lightspeed, Baillie Gifford, Coinbase Ventures, and DST. The default of Three Arrows Capital in 2022 left the company with an impact of about $270 million in loans. The secondary market has seen old stock transfers at a valuation of about $4 billion, coinciding with the lower end of this IPO target range.

Source: Public information