IPO Mania | Eight crypto firms eye initial public offerings; investors worried about froth: Report

The red-hot IPO mart is likely to get hotter as after observing how investors turned around the fortunes of several blank-cheque companies and firms that made their market debuts, at least eight companies dealing in cryptocurrency are planning to go public, as per a report.

According to Renaissance Capital, among the new entrants could be crypto firms such as Coinbase, eToro, MicroBT, Gemini Trust Co, Bitmain Technologies, and Bitfury, said a Business Standard report quoting news agency Bloomberg.

In fact, Coinbase, which was valued at over $8 billion in 2018, filed last month to go public. The digital currency exchange platform has around 35 million verified users and over $25 billion in assets.

The fact that the crypto industry, which prides itself on being an outsider to the financial market, is eyeing public listings, has had some investors worried. There are concerns that IPOs are just as chronically frothy as the cryptocurrency, and together they may result in a bubble.

Aaron Brown, a crypto investor, has said: “Crypto is chronically frothy. IPOs are chronically frothy. We are in the frothy phases for both right now. So, crypto IPOs this year? Frothy-squared!”

Emmanuel Goh, CEO of Skew -- a data analytics and trade execution platform focused on cryptocurrency derivatives – said: “It is clear that a gap has opened between private and public market’s valuation for tech companies, inciting startups to fast track a potential IPO. Given the current appetite for cryptocurrencies, I expect extremely strong demand for bellwether crypto companies that are already turning a profit.”