The market for crypto initial public offerings has slowed sharply as investors shift capital toward artificial intelligence and other sectors amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
Christian Lopez, head of blockchain and digital assets at Cohen & Company Capital Markets, said funding constraints and investor caution are the main factors delaying new listings.
Several major firms including Kraken parent Payward, Consensys, Ledger and Grayscale have postponed IPO plans. Blockchain.com confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission in May, while FalconX submitted a draft registration statement around the same time.
Lopez noted that successful earlier listings by Circle and Bullish were followed by weaker trading volumes and disappointing post-listing performance from firms such as BitGo. He expects the market may not reopen meaningfully until next year.
Traditional financial institutions including Morgan Stanley, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange continue to build blockchain infrastructure despite the near-term slowdown in crypto funding.
