Grayscale Halts IPO Plan as Crypto Slump Drags On, Earliest Restart Seen in Fourth Quarter
Summary
- Grayscale has suspended its initial public offering (IPO) plan because of the cryptocurrency market's bear market.
- Grayscale's IPO process is unlikely to restart before the fourth quarter of this year.
- Enthusiasm for crypto company IPOs has cooled amid worsening market conditions, lower trading volumes and weak performance by newly listed companies.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
Grayscale has suspended its initial public offering plan as the cryptocurrency bear market drags on.
CoinDesk reported on May 28 that Grayscale recently paused work on the IPO. Citing sources, the outlet said the process is unlikely to restart before the fourth quarter of this year.
Grayscale is one of the world's largest asset managers. It runs the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, or GBTC, a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
The company confidentially submitted an IPO filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in November last year. Grayscale told CoinDesk it could not comment because of the confidentiality period set by the SEC.
The decision to delay the IPO was driven largely by the crypto market downturn. Other crypto companies, including Kraken and Ledger, have also suspended IPO preparations. CoinDesk said worsening market conditions, lower trading volumes and weak performance from newly listed companies such as BitGo have cooled enthusiasm for crypto IPOs.
JOON HYOUNG LEE
gilson@bloomingbit.ioCrypto Journalist based in Seoul
