Kraken is one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges.
Tiffany Hagler-Geard | Bloomberg via Getty Images
Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said Tuesday that the crypto exchange has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, confirming CNBC’s previous reporting on the matter.
Sethi’s comments were made at the Semafor World Economy conference in Washington, D.C., the website reported. The executive said Kraken strives to make advanced trading strategies typically reserved for professional investors available to individual investors, according to Semafor.
Kraken did not respond to a CNBC request for comment.
The crypto exchange has reportedly lost more than $6 billion in its valuation. Earlier on Tuesday Bloomberg reported that Deutsche Börse Group has committed to investing $200 million in Kraken in exchange for a 1.5% fully diluted ownership stake, implying a $13.3 billion valuation. In November, Kraken announced an $800 million raise at a $20 billion valuation.
Less than a month ago, Kraken froze its IPO plans amid a crypto winter that pushed the price of bitcoin to 40% below its October record. The flagship cryptocurrency has been climbing higher in recent weeks. It rose as high as $76,000 on Tuesday, a level not seen since February, and is now up 9% for the month of April.
Rival crypto exchange Gemini Space Station has seen its stock fall nearly 49%, however, shares are up 15% month to date.
—CNBC’s Liz Napolitano contributed reporting.
