FalconX Confidentially Files for IPO, Brings in Bankers for Public Listing
Crypto trading and prime brokerage firm FalconX has taken its first formal step toward going public, confidentially submitting a draft S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as part of its FalconX IPO SEC filing process, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The California-based company has also brought on Wall Street heavyweight Cantor Fitzgerald and other unnamed bankers to advise on the potential initial public offering (IPO). Both FalconX and Cantor declined to comment on the matter.
The IPO is not expected to materialise until the end of 2026, given current market conditions, according to the source. CoinDesk had previously reported that Cantor was among the investment banks pitching FalconX for a potential listing.
Founded in 2018, FalconX operates as a digital asset prime broker serving institutional clients including hedge funds, asset managers, and market makers, offering services such as trade execution, liquidity access, credit, and clearing. The firm was last valued at $8 billion following a $150 million Series D funding round in June 2022.
The FalconX IPO SEC filing comes at a time when the crypto industry’s once-hot IPO pipeline has noticeably cooled. After successful listings by Circle (CRCL) and Bullish (BLSH) rekindled investor appetite for digital asset businesses in 2025, deteriorating market conditions, weaker trading volumes, and lackluster post-listing performances from newly public firms such as BitGo (BTGO) have since dampened enthusiasm.
A wave of major crypto companies have now paused their public listing ambitions. Kraken’s parent company Payward, Ethereum software developer Consensys, hardware wallet maker Ledger, and asset manager Grayscale have all postponed their IPO plans while waiting for market conditions to improve. CoinDesk has reported on each of these delays, Kraken’s freeze, Consensys pushing to fall, Ledger putting plans on hold, and Grayscale’s delay.
Not everyone is sitting on the sidelines, however. Blockchain.com recently confirmed it had confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO with the SEC, and 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 focused on tokenized real-world assets.
With the FalconX IPO SEC filing now on record, the firm joins a growing queue of crypto-native companies watching the market closely, waiting for the window to open, and betting it will before year’s end.
