Crypto trading firm FalconX confidentially files with SEC for IPO, hires bankers

FalconX has hired Cantor and other bankers to advise on a potential IPO and confidentially filed draft paperwork with the SEC, though the listing is not expected until later this year amid volatile market conditions.

What to know:

• FalconX has confidentially filed a draft S-1 with the SEC and hired Cantor to advise on a potential IPO, according to a source.
• The crypto prime broker, last valued at $8 billion in 2022, serves institutional clients including hedge funds, asset managers and market makers.
• Cooling investor sentiment, weaker trading activity, and lukewarm post-listing performance from recent crypto IPOs have delayed plans across the sector, including at Kraken parent Payward, Consensys and Ledger.

Crypto trading firm FalconX has confidentially filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the initial step toward a potential public listing, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

FalconX has hired Wall Street heavyweight Cantor and other bankers to advise on its initial public offering (IPO), the person said, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is private.

The California-based company's IPO is not expected to happen until the end of the year, given market conditions, the person added. CoinDesk previously reported that Cantor was among the firms pitching FalconX for its potential listing.

Both FalconX and Cantor declined to comment.

FalconX is a brokerage and trading firm that primarily serves institutional clients, including hedge funds, asset managers, and market makers. Founded in 2018, it operates as a digital asset prime broker, providing services such as trade execution, liquidity access, credit, and clearing. In June 2022, the company raised $150 million in a Series D funding round that valued the firm at $8 billion.

Crypto firms entered 2026 expecting a strong year for IPOs after successful listings by companies such as Circle (CRCL) and Bullish (BLSH), CoinDesk’s parent company, helped rekindle investor appetite for digital-asset businesses in 2025.

Since then, however, deteriorating market conditions, weaker trading volumes and lackluster post-listing performances from newly public firms such as BitGo (BTGO) have cooled enthusiasm for additional crypto IPOs.

Several major crypto companies, including Payward, Kraken’s parent company; Ethereum software developer Consensys; hardware wallet maker Ledger, and asset manager Grayscale, have since postponed their IPO plans while waiting for market conditions to improve.

Some firms are still pushing ahead with their plans to go public. Blockchain.com said last week that it had confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO with the SEC.

Meanwhile, Securitize has agreed to merge with Cantor Equity Partners II, a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company, in a deal that would make it one of the few publicly traded firms primarily focused on tokenized securities and real-world assets.

Read more: Crypto IPOs could create massive $1 trillion market amid tokenization wave, Jefferies says

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