Original Title: "Moving Headquarters to Wyoming, Aiming for a Billion-dollar IPO, Can Kraken Take Over from Circle?"

Original Author: Dangdang, Odaily Planet Daily

After Circle's listing, everything started to accelerate.

On June 5th, Circle was first listed on the NYSE. In less than three weeks, its stock price soared nearly tenfold, which can be seen as the most symbolically significant event in the crypto industry in the past five years. Finally, capital has once again recognized the financial nature of "crypto," especially for those companies that have a compliance path and can clearly explain their growth logic.

In fact, back in March of this year, Kraken had already disclosed its IPO plans to the outside world, but it wasn't until Circle's successful listing that everything was re-evaluated by the market.

Recently, the crypto exchange founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Francisco announced that it will officially move its headquarters to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The reason is the state's clarity and openness in digital asset policies, which will help Kraken establish a public market-oriented compliance tone and strategic positioning.

This is not just a geographical move but also signifies Kraken's transition from a "participant in the decentralized narrative" to a "builder of the institutional financial system."

Wyoming: Not Retreating, but a Strategic Relocation

This headquarters relocation is not a passive choice to escape regulatory pressure in San Francisco but a carefully considered strategic deployment.

Kraken has openly emphasized that the reason for moving the headquarters to Wyoming is because the state has long had an advantage in crypto regulations. Wyoming has a regulatory sandbox that allows crypto projects to test products in a controlled environment. It also actively promotes institutional innovations such as stablecoins, DAO incorporation, providing the entire industry with a field for experimenting with cutting-edge technology and legal order.

In fact, the interaction between Kraken and Wyoming has long been underway. They have donated $300,000 to the University of Wyoming for blockchain education and have also participated in hosting local blockchain conferences. More importantly, the state plans to launch the government-issued official stablecoin WYST in August 2025, incorporating digital assets into the local financial strategic map.

Setting up headquarters in this location during the critical window before the IPO is a proactive deployment made by Kraken in the face of a complex regulatory environment.

Building Momentum: A Solid Balance Sheet

Perhaps Kraken's performance may not be "explosive," but it is certainly robust.

In 2024, the company achieved annual revenue of $15 billion, a 128% year-on-year growth; generated a net profit of $3.8 billion; reached a total platform asset size of $428 billion; had 2.5 million active accounts; recorded a high annual trading volume of $6.65 trillion, demonstrating overall stable operation.

Simultaneously, Kraken's "proof of reserves" has become a tool to enhance market trust. In May, the latest data released by Kraken showed that its BTC reserve ratio was 114.9%, sufficiently covering user asset demands while maintaining a security buffer. To respond to external expectations of transparency, Kraken has committed to increasing the frequency of reserve audits to quarterly and gradually including more asset types to expand audit coverage. Additionally, Kraken initiating fund allocation for FTX creditors indicates its improving capability to handle legacy risks.

All these measures are signals that Kraken aims to convey to the market ahead of its IPO: Stable Operation, Transparent Risk Management, Clear Compliance Pathway.

Regulatory Game: Navigating Politics and Policy Pathways

Of note is the complex interaction between Kraken and the SEC.

Previously, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Kraken, alleging that its staking product constituted an unregistered securities issuance. In 2025, the SEC agreed to dismiss the lawsuit without requiring Kraken to admit wrongdoing or imposing fines; however, the court did not fully accept Kraken's legal position regarding "SEC's lack of authority over crypto."

Nevertheless, the changing political landscape has opened another door for Kraken.

After Donald Trump's election, Kraken's Chief Legal Officer, Marco Santori, resigned and was included in the list of nominees for the new CFTC chairman. At the same time, Kraken publicly recruited Washington policy experts with a Republican background, donated $1 million to the Presidential Inaugural Fund, standing alongside Coinbase in political donations.

Kraken evidently realizes: At this stage, political resources and compliance capabilities are redefining the core competitiveness of cryptocurrency exchanges.

And Circle's success has already validated one thing: within the right political climate, the stock market can reintegrate the crypto narrative.

IPO: Not Just a Fundraising Window, But Also a Symbol of Battle

Kraken is expected to go public in the first quarter of 2026, and they plan to raise between $200 million to $1 billion before that. They have already had preliminary discussions with Wall Street investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan.

It is worth noting that this money is not intended to sustain day-to-day operations but rather for business expansion. A story of proactively seizing opportunities rather than relying on fundraising to survive the winter is what the capital market most hopes to hear.

Kraken is strategically positioning itself around the "infrastructure" label: from launching Kraken Prime to compete with Coinbase Prime and FalconX; to partnering with the European digital bank Bunq to expand retail crypto financial services; and further integrating Janover into the collateral system through strategic holdings to expand the financial ecosystem.

In addition, they recently completed the $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader, starting to offer traditional financial derivative services to U.S. users. This acquisition is one of the largest between a crypto company and a TradFi company.

In Europe, Kraken obtained the EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) license through the acquisition of a licensed institution in Cyprus, officially launching compliant derivative business; they have also secured an EMI payment license in the UK, in coordination with the global deployment of perpetual contracts and leveraged ETF products.

Even tokenized U.S. stocks are now part of the product roadmap. Assets such as Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, and others will be listed in token form on Kraken's platform, breaking the barrier of trading hour restrictions and enabling "24/7" circulation.

They understand that an IPO is not just about selling a story; it is about refining a product line to resemble more of an "infrastructure" company.

In this process, Kraken is attempting to undergo a more profound brand transition: evolving from a "trading platform" to a "multifaceted financial services network."

Epilogue: From Rebel to Institutional Competitor

In its early stages of development, Kraken maintained a restrained attitude towards aligning with traditional finance. Now, they have submitted an IPO intention to Wall Street, embraced politics, embraced legislation, and embraced the "human governance" system.

This is not a betrayal of their initial intentions but a proactive growth strategy. The institutional dividend is reshaping the next wave of the crypto narrative, and Kraken has chosen to take its position before the winds of change.

Circle ignited the first spark of the US stock market crypto story, and Kraken may hope to be the igniter of that second flame.

Original Article Link

Welcome to join the official BlockBeats community:

Telegram Subscription Group: https://t.me/theblockbeats

Telegram Discussion Group: https://t.me/BlockBeats_App

Official Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/BlockBeatsAsia