Crypto exchange Blockchain.com is exploring an IPO that could happen as early as this year: report

• Blockchain.com is talking to banks about how it could hold an initial public offering this year, Bloomberg reported.
• The $14 billion crypto exchange's IPO timing could be 2023, as its plans could change, per Bloomberg.

Crypto exchange Blockchain.com is talking to banks about an initial public offering that could be launched before the end of 2022, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

The talks are in early stages, and the exchange could still change its plans, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The IPO might not take place until next year if it goes ahead, they said, according to the report, which did not say where the listing might be.

London-based Blockchain.com, founded in 2011, is one of the world's largest crypto exchanges and was valued at $14 billion in a funding round in March. The company did not respond to an Insider request for comment.

When Coinbase became the first crypto exchange to go public in a $100 billion IPO on the Nasdaq a year ago, the move was greeted as a watershed moment for the industry. Since then, crypto exchange Kraken said in June it was also considering a public launch.

Similarly, Binance's US arm said in September it was considering a stock market debut within the next three years.

"If the business can grow consistently over the next three years, then three years should be sufficient for an IPO, but if there's a prolonged bear market for, I don't know, maybe three or five years, then it may be a little bit longer," Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said at the time.

One-third of bitcoin network transactions are on Blockchain.com, and it has about 37 million verified users, the company said on its website.

Global IPO activity declined significantly in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the previous year, according to data from EY. It found there were 321 deals raising $54.4 billion, a drop of 37% and 51%, respectively.

While January 2022 had been the strongest opening month for IPO proceeds in over two decades, overall activity declined drastically later in the quarter, due to volatile market conditions. Markets have been unsettled by the Federal Reserve's plan for several interest-rate hikes and by Russia's war on Ukraine.

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