What’s happening:

• Blockchain.com has appointed Justin Evans as CFO and Mike Wilcox as COO as it prepares for a potential IPO.
• The company is among a growing number of cryptocurrency firms exploring public listings.
• Increased institutional adoption and a friendlier stance from the SEC are fostering a conducive climate for cryptocurrency companies to become public.

The cryptocurrency exchange and wallet provider Blockchain.com is taking significant strides toward a potential initial public offering (IPO) with the appointment of two skilled executives, Justin Evans and Mike Wilcox.

Evans, who has experience from Goldman Sachs, is now the firm’s CFO, while Wilcox, the former CFO of Velocity Global, has assumed the role of COO.

Evans remarked that the company is “taking the steps necessary to be a public company, if and when the public markets are available.”

This development comes as several other cryptocurrency firms are reportedly also planning to go public, including Circle, Kraken, Bullish Global, Gemini, Ripple, and BitGo.

A growing trend of institutional investment, particularly from major firms like BlackRock and Fidelity, launching ETF products in the cryptocurrency market, combined with the SEC’s anticipated shift toward a balanced regulatory stance, is creating an attractive environment for these companies to make their public market debut.

Blockchain.com’s valuation has varied over the years. The company raised $300 million in March 2021, achieving a post-money valuation of $5.2 billion. In 2022, it secured funding that boosted its valuation to $14 billion, while in November 2023, it closed a $110 million financing round that valued the company at $7 billion.