Laura Katherine Mann, a accomplice at international regulation agency White & Case, sees 2025 because the “test-case yr” for crypto preliminary public choices, however says 2026 is the actual proof level: the yr the market finds out whether or not digital asset IPOs are a “sturdy asset class” or only a cyclical commerce that solely works when costs are ripping.
2025 was a busy yr for crypto firms going public. Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) listed in June, adopted by CoinDesk’s proprietor Bullish (BLSH) in August and crypto alternate Gemini (GEMI) in September.
Potential candidates for subsequent yr embody South Korean crypto alternate Upbit, prime dealer FalconX, and blockchain analytics firm Chainanalysis. Asset supervisor Grayscale has already filed to go public within the U.S.
International crypto exercise has recovered meaningfully from the 2021-era growth and bust. The open query heading into 2026, Mann says, is whether or not “crypto issuers can keep that momentum” lengthy sufficient to satisfy public-market requirements, not simply crypto-native enthusiasm, she advised CoinDesk in an interview.
Momentum is actual, however volatility is a priority
Mann factors to the backdrop public traders will carry into 2026: bitcoin greater than doubled in 2024, then pushed to new all-time highs in 2025 earlier than pulling again sharply. She says that sort of volatility is precisely what fairness traders shall be weighing once they consider IPO candidates subsequent yr, as a result of it doesn’t simply have an effect on sentiment, it impacts income sturdiness, buyer exercise, and valuation multiples throughout the sector.
She says conventional finance is signaling crypto is sufficiently big to index, pointing to S&P Dow Jones Indices’ announcement in October that it was launching a product that blends digital property with crypto public firms, one other signal of institutionalization as mainstream market infrastructure begins packaging the sector.
However she says the institutionalization story has a flipside: threat tolerance is rising, however selectivity is rising quicker. Mann factors to MSCI exploring the exclusion of firms — significantly digital asset treasury (DAT)-style listings — that maintain greater than 50% of their property in crypto, deciphering it as an indication that index suppliers and allocators might more and more draw a line between working companies and balance-sheet proxies for token publicity.
The end result, she says, is a market the place traders might settle for threat, simply not each sort of threat. We are going to see traders “accepting threat however being extra discriminating concerning the threat that they settle for,” she added.
Regulatory and institutional tailwinds means the usis extra investable
One of many greatest adjustments Mann sees heading into 2026 is the regulatory tone. She says the U.S. has moved from an unfavorable surroundings to a “way more constructive one for digital property,” pointing to the GENIUS Act for instance of the route of journey. That change, she argues, has “made the U.S. market extra investable,” and she or he says she’s additionally seeing extra indicators of institutional adoption.
A rotation in what goes public: from DATs to monetary infrastructure
If 2025 leaned closely on DAT listings, Mann expects 2026 to mark a shift: extra IPO candidates that feel and look like monetary infrastructure, firms that may clarify themselves by way of acquainted public-market frameworks like compliance posture, recurring income, and operational resilience.
She expects the 2026 IPO cohort to come back from three buckets:
Regulated exchanges and brokerages
Mann says essentially the most possible listings are exchanges and brokerages already “dwelling underneath bank-like compliance regimes,” as a result of they will current themselves as identified portions to public traders and regulators. She frames an IPO for these corporations as “the subsequent logical step.”
Crypto alternate Kraken has already filed to go public, with a possible itemizing as early as the primary quarter of subsequent yr.
Infrastructure and custody performs
Mann expects investor desire to tilt towards infrastructure and custody, particularly the place income is recurring or subscription-based moderately than tightly coupled to day by day token costs. She says the pitch that resonates in public markets is stability, enterprise fashions that may defend efficiency even when crypto volatility spikes.
Stablecoin funds and treasury-style platforms
Mann sees stablecoin-related issuers and treasury platforms as more and more viable public candidates as a result of authorized frameworks are strengthening on either side of the Atlantic. She says the GENIUS Act offers a clearer path within the U.S., whereas MiCA has completed the identical in Europe. Her view is that this creates a “extra strong authorized framework for fiat-backed stablecoin issuers and funds platforms that look so much like regulated monetary establishments,” buildings public traders already know methods to underwrite.
What may cap the 2026 IPO window?
Mann is obvious that tailwinds don’t eradicate the gatekeepers. She says “valuation self-discipline is again within the room”, and she or he factors to latest tech IPOs the place firms had been usually bigger and extra mature once they debuted. In her view, crypto IPO candidates in 2026 shall be judged in opposition to that very same bar.
Which means readiness issues. Mann says traders shall be in search of high-quality digital asset firms, corporations that may show they’re operationally ready, can face up to scrutiny, and have a coherent fairness story.
She additionally flags macro uncertainty throughout areas as a variable that may tighten threat budgets shortly. And he or she factors to latest market motion: a pointy pullback in crypto costs since Oct. If that weak point persists, or if it’s tied to a broader re-rating in tech or AI valuations, Mann says it may doubtless shut the IPO window and cut back the variety of crypto firms that may realistically come to market in 2026.
Alternatively, Mann says a rebound may change the calculus quick. If markets recuperate and bitcoin makes new highs, she expects extra firms to attempt to capitalize on the wave, significantly if regulatory posture continues to maneuver in a pro-digital-assets route.
The underside line for 2026
Mann suggests 2025 examined whether or not crypto firms can go public once more. 2026 will check whether or not they can do it in a approach that lasts.