Ledger aims for a $4 billion IPO! Goldman Sachs leads 6 major crypto giants vying for listing

Ledger plans a $4 billion IPO in New York, hiring Goldman Sachs and others as underwriters, surpassing the entire industry’s $3.4 billion in 2025. Following BitGo’s listing this week, six more are set to follow: Kraken, Consensys, CertiK, Evernorth, Animoca Brands, and Bithumb.

Ledger’s $4 Billion IPO Surpasses All of 2025

Sources familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that hardware crypto wallet provider Ledger is planning a $4 billion public offering and has engaged Goldman Sachs and others to achieve this goal. It is also reported that the company is working with Jefferies and Barclays on the deal, which could be completed later in 2026 on the New York Stock Exchange. DL News reached out to these four firms for comment, but received no immediate response.

This news came swiftly after crypto custody firm BitGo raised over $212 million through its NYSE listing on Wednesday. Data from DefiLlama shows that last year, digital asset companies raised $3.4 billion via IPOs. Ledger’s successful $4 billion IPO will exceed the total of all industry activity in 2025. This stark comparison indicates that a single company’s IPO scale surpasses the entire industry’s previous year.

Ledger’s choice of Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter is highly symbolic. Goldman is one of Wall Street’s top investment banks, and its involvement signifies recognition from the traditional financial sector of the crypto industry. Additionally, the participation of Jefferies and Barclays indicates a syndicate of top-tier banks, a configuration typically reserved for large, high-profile IPOs. The joint involvement of three banks also disperses underwriting risk and increases the likelihood of success.

Choosing the NYSE over Nasdaq is also noteworthy. The NYSE is more traditional and emphasizes company maturity and stability, whereas Nasdaq is more tech-focused. Ledger’s selection of the NYSE may be aimed at positioning itself as a mature enterprise rather than a startup. This positioning could attract more conservative institutional investors rather than just speculative capital.

Is a $4 billion valuation reasonable for Ledger? This depends on its business model and market position. Ledger is one of the world’s largest hardware wallet manufacturers, with products used by millions of crypto users. Hardware wallet sales provide a stable revenue stream, unlike exchanges that are highly dependent on market volatility. Additionally, Ledger offers enterprise custody services through Ledger Vault, opening up institutional client markets.

Seven Crypto Companies to Launch 2026 IPO Wave

More companies are expected to go public in the future. Despite the current downturn in the crypto market, several industry players are planning IPOs in 2026. Web3 security firm CertiK announced this week that it also plans to go public, revealing the plan at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In a paid article on CBS, the company stated that the IPO will “strengthen the transparency standards that CertiK already follows.”

CertiK co-founder and CEO Gu Ronghui said in a statement: “As we continue to expand our products and technology, going public with CertiK is the logical next step.” Known for smart contract auditing and blockchain security services, CertiK has provided security audits for thousands of crypto projects. In a field plagued by frequent hacking, the demand for security services continues to grow, providing a solid fundamental case for CertiK’s IPO.

According to a confidential S-1 filing submitted to the SEC in November, Kraken is preparing for an IPO in the first half of 2026. The crypto exchange is seen as a potential competitor to Coinbase and Robinhood. Originally a pure crypto trading platform, Kraken has expanded its services over recent years. After reaching a valuation of $20 billion, Kraken filed for an IPO.

According to Axios’s October 2025 report, crypto infrastructure giant Consensys is in talks with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs about a 2026 listing. The company claims to have over 30 million active monthly users and a valuation of $7 billion, offering a pure crypto infrastructure investment opportunity to the public markets. Operating MetaMask and Infura, the firm is transitioning from a software studio to a high-margin infrastructure provider. In 2025, MetaMask added native support for Bitcoin and Solana to strengthen its position as a multi-chain wallet.

2026 Seven Crypto Companies IPO List

Ledger: $4 billion (hardware wallets), NYSE

Kraken: $20 billion valuation (exchange), H1

Consensys: $7 billion valuation (MetaMask), 30 million users

CertiK: Davos announcement (security audits)

Evernorth: XRPN code (XRP asset management), Q1 via SPAC

Animoca Brands: via reverse merger (Web3 gaming)

Bithumb: Samsung Securities underwriters (Korean exchange)

XRP Asset Management and Gaming Giants’ IPO Strategies

Evernorth, a fund management company for XRP, CEO Asheesh Birla told Nasdaq MarketSite in early January that the company plans to go public on Nasdaq in Q1 2026. The listing will be through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Armada Acquisition Corp II. Once completed, the company will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN.

CryptoQuant data shows Evernorth holds 388 million XRP tokens, with an average purchase price of $2.44 per token. The company handles custody, compliance, and security obligations for direct crypto purchases. SPAC mergers are a relatively quick way to go public, avoiding the lengthy approval process of traditional IPOs. However, SPACs suffered reputational damage from numerous failures in 2021-2022, and Evernorth’s choice may face additional investor scrutiny.

Animoca Brands plans to go public in 2026 via a reverse merger with Currenc Group on Nasdaq. This move will spotlight one of the most active supporters of crypto gaming. Headquartered in Hong Kong, Animoca has built one of the industry’s broadest Web3 gaming investment portfolios, holding stakes in dozens of tokenized games and metaverse projects. The proposed IPO is widely seen as a barometer of investor interest in metaverse-related assets and game-driven crypto investments.

Reports indicate Seoul-based crypto exchange Bithumb plans to list on a major Korean stock exchange in 2026. According to Bloomberg, sources say Bithumb has appointed Samsung Securities as its lead underwriter for the IPO. This move will be a key test of Asian investor demand for crypto stocks. With an estimated 18 million crypto users nationwide, Bithumb’s IPO could mark a new phase of institutionalization in Asia’s retail-driven crypto market.