Last week’s Donald Trump victory may make it easier for cryptocurrency companies to go public, according to Cathie Woods’s ARK Invest. In a newsletter posted on Tuesday, the global asset manager predicts that the change in leadership – particularly if it leads to a new SEC chair – could open the floodgates for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in the crypto sector.
The newsletter points to potential legislative advancements, such as the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) and the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act of 2023, which would provide clearer regulatory frameworks for digital assets and stablecoins. The odds of these acts making progress are significantly higher after Republicans took the House and Senate – coupled with a Trump administration that has said it will be amenable to crypto regulations.
This could allow firms such as Circle and Kraken to move forward with their IPO plans. Coinbase was the first major crypto exchange to go public through a direct listing in 2021, but regulatory challenges since then – particularly from the SEC under Gary Gensler – have dampened the growth of other crypto IPOs.
