Blockchain.com Files Confidentially for IPO

Blockchain.com is the latest in a series of crypto companies going public.

The company announced Thursday (May 21) that it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its initial public offering (IPO).

“The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined,” Blockchain.com said in a news release. “The initial public offering is subject to market and other conditions and the completion of the SEC’s review process.”

A report on the planned IPO from Bloomberg News cites a source familiar with the matter who said Blockchain.com expects to list this year. The company — whose offerings include wallet, brokerage, trading services — has 500 employees and has been profitable on an adjusted basis for three years, the source added.

The listing is the latest in a series of similar moves by cryptocurrency players following the advent of President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto administration.

Among the companies to go public last year were Bullish and Gemini, with Kraken also filing confidentially for an IPO. However, the company has since reportedly paused its listing plans as crypto prices have plunged, a downturn that has also caused companies like Gemini to cut jobs.

In other cryptocurrency news, PYMNTS wrote this week about new Federal Reserve data showing that just 2% of U.S. households used cryptocurrency to buy something or make payments, and just 1% used it to send money to friends or family.

“That finding lands at an awkward moment for the digital asset industry,” PYMNTS wrote. “After years dominated by speculation and trading, crypto firms have increasingly repositioned themselves as infrastructure companies focused on payments. Stablecoins are marketed as the future of remittances while blockchain rails are being pitched as cheaper alternatives to traditional card and bank networks.”

The Fed data, the report continues, “underscores a stubborn reality. Namely, the fact that consumers can already find the benefits being advertised by crypto within the traditional financial system, whether that means credit cards, peer-to-peer payment services or real-time payment systems.

“Consumers rarely need to think about settlement rails because modern payment experiences already feel immediate,” the report added. “Cryptocurrency, by contrast, continues to ask users to absorb additional complexity in exchange for benefits many no longer perceive as unique.”