Just-In: Is Crypto Lending Giant Celsius Planning An IPO?

An announcement from crypto lender Celsius Network on Monday suggests that the company or its unit could be looking at a possible initial public offering.

Celsius said in a press release that its unit, Celsius Mining, filed a draft registration statement on a form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The statement is confidential, for now.

A Form S-1 is usually indicative of a proposed initial public offering (IPO). Celsius’ announcement shows that the company may be planning an IPO for itself, or its mining unit.

The company said it will release more details by the end of Monday. But traders responded positively to the move.

Celsius’ token, CEL, jumped nearly 20% on the announcement, and is now trading around $0.8335.

Celsius the latest crypto IPO?

If the firm’s announcement does indeed represent an IPO, then it would see Celsius joining a growing list of major crypto firms looking at a public listing this year. Crypto exchange Blockchain.com had last month outlined plans for a U.S. IPO in 2022.

Singapore-based unicorn Amber Group is also looking at a U.S. IPO by early 2023, while USDC issuer Circle is set to list on the Nasdaq later this year, in a $9 billion deal.

The rush for a U.S. IPO was first started by Coinbase, which listed at over $30 billion in 2021.

As of late-2021, Celsius holds a valuation of $3 billion. It is one of the biggest players in the crypto lending space, with over $16 billion assets under management.

IPO comes amid troubled markets

But while an IPO is bound to attract more capital to the company, Celsius is considering at offering at a turbulent time for markets.

Given a crash in crypto and stock markets, a crypto IPO could be a difficult buy for traders. Coinbase has seen its stock value plummet to record lows in 2022 due to weakness on both fronts.