London-based cryptocurrency firm Blockchain.com is reportedly seeking a US listing for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) launch, in a potential blow to the growth of the UK cryptoasset sector.
The startup has started interviewing banks ahead of the potential US IPO and could finalise the deal this year.
Sources close to the situation told Bloomberg that the IPO launch might not happen until next year and that the company’s plans could change.
The UK company was recently valued at $14bn (£10.7bn) following its latest round of funding and is one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency firms, claiming to have 37 million active users across the world.
Blockchain.com’s US listing plans come after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the Treasury department’s ambitions of turning the UK into a “global cryptoasset technology hub”.
Economic secretary for the Treasury John Glen outlined the department’s steps to grow the UK cryptocurrency industry, which included “legislating to bring certain stablecoins into our payments framework”, as well as the creation of an NFT by the Royal Mint.
Blockchain.com was founded in 2011, making it one of the earliest cryptocurrency infrastructure providers.
Despite being one of the UK’s biggest cryptocurrency successes, Blockchain.com has had difficulty operating in its own home nation. The firm has struggled to receive regulatory approval following a crackdown from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on cryptocurrency trading regulations.
The company was briefly granted temporary trading permission from the FCA as part of a list of 12 companies. However, Blockchain.com lost this temporary approval when the list of companies was reduced to five.
Blockchain.com’ crypto exchange rival Coinbase recently launched its IPO last April, debuting at a valuation of $100bn, although its share value has dropped significantly since then.
Fellow crypto exchange Binance has also been looking into going public. The Binance chief executive said last September that he expects the IPO launch to happen in two or three years.
UKTN has reached out to Blockchain.com for further comments.
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