In a move that would significantly strengthen the position of bitcoin exchanges and cryptocurrencies as major companies, Kraken, a prominent US stock exchange, believes it will go public next year by direct listing, according to CNBC.
The report mentions “record trading volumes and new customers amid rising bitcoin prices” as a motivation for potential listing by Kraken and it is likely that the success of Coinbase’s direct listing will motivate it as well.
With a user base of over six million, Kraken is ranked among the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. According to data available from CoinMarketCap, it is currently ranked fourth on the list of largest stock exchanges by volume of transactions.
In a recent interview with CNBC, the company’s CEO and founder, Jesse Powell, revealed that he managed to capitalize on the recent rise in the price of bitcoin. According to Powell, the earnings the company made in February exceeded all those obtained in the previous year.
Bitcoin hit a record price of over $ 60,000 in mid-March. Analysts and traders alike attributed the price rally to institutional investors entering the industry. During this period, institutions such as Tesla, MicroStrategy and many others have made huge investments in BTC.
Recently, Kraken’s main rival in the USA, Coinbase, revealed that it will be published in a direct success list, set for next week. This listing could help increase the company’s value by up to $ 100 billion. Coinbase also recently announced a record quarterly revenue of $ 1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2021.