Wall Road monetary companies agency Cantor is amongst funding banks which are pitching cryptocurrency buying and selling platform FalconX for its potential IPO, in line with two individuals with information of the matter.
The corporate has held preliminarytalks with attainable advisors, however FalconX has not but formally appointed bankers for its preliminary public providing, the individuals stated, who spoke on situation of anonymity because the matter is non-public.
FalconX declined to remark. Cantor didn’t reply to a request for remark by publication time.
Funding banks typically pitch corporations for an IPO by presenting themselves as the perfect accomplice to take the enterprise public, combining valuation evaluation, market timing recommendation, and distribution energy.
The aim is to win the mandate by convincing the corporate that they’ll maximize valuation, guarantee a easy itemizing course of, and generate robust aftermarket efficiency. Whereas some companies may lead the IPO course of, most offers are accomplished by a syndicate of a number of banks.
Final yr, Decrypt reported in June that FalconX had held casual talks with bankers and consultants about going public. Later within the yr, the corporate’s CEO, Raghu Yarlagadda, informed the Wall Road Journal that the agency was contemplating an IPO.
Nevertheless, the crypto market has been beneath strain since then, with the bitcoin worth falling from an all-time excessive of $126,000 in October to close $70,000. Lately, CoinDesk reported that crypto change Kraken has put its IPO plans on maintain after confidentially submitting with the SEC in November, with sources saying the method will doubtless restart as soon as the surroundings improves. To this point, digital asset custodian BitGo (BTGO) is the one crypto native agency to listing this yr. The shares have fallen round 40% since their IPO.
Regardless of this robust market backdrop, crypto companies similar to FalconX and Copper are persevering with talks about potential public listings. Final yr, a number of crypto exchanges, together with CoinDesk mum or dad Bullish (BLSH) and Gemini (GEMI), went public, and business observers say that in 2026, monetary infrastructure companies might be subsequent in line for IPOs.
Cantor connection
Cantor and FalconX have already got an current relationship centered on institutional crypto lending, with the funding financial institution offering one of many first main credit score amenities to the crypto prime dealer.
In 2025, Cantor launched a $2 billion bitcoin-backed financing program and prolonged an preliminary credit score line of over $100 million to FalconX, permitting it to borrow in opposition to bitcoin BTC$70,426.40 collateral and entry liquidity with out promoting belongings. The deal is a part of a broader partnership geared toward constructing institutional-grade credit score infrastructure in digital belongings, reflecting rising convergence between conventional finance and crypto markets.
If Cantor wins the IPO mandate, it could doubtless be because of the current relationship with the buying and selling agency.
FalconX is a U.S.-based cryptocurrency buying and selling and brokerage agency that primarily serves massive institutional shoppers, together with hedge funds, asset managers, and market makers.
Based in 2018, the corporate operates as a digital asset prime dealer, providing companies together with commerce execution, liquidity entry, credit score and clearing. The corporate raised $150 million in a Sequence D financing spherical in June 2022, valuing the platform at $8 billion.
Whereas no formal announcement has been made, FalconX has been scaling up forward of a possible itemizing and has pursued an aggressive acquisition technique over the previous yr because it builds out a full-service institutional crypto platform.
In 2025, the agency acquired derivatives specialist Arbelos Markets and took a majority stake in Monarq Asset Administration, earlier than hanging a deal for crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) issuer 21Shares, its third main transaction of the yr. Collectively, the offers increase FalconX’s attain throughout buying and selling, derivatives, and asset administration, reflecting a broader push to consolidate infrastructure and provide extra regulated, institutional-grade funding merchandise.
Cantor has steadily expanded its footprint in digital belongings, positioning itself as one of many extra energetic conventional finance companies in crypto markets. The Wall Road agency manages Tether’s U.S. Treasury reserves and has backed a number of crypto ventures, whereas publicly signaling assist for blockchain infrastructure and buying and selling companies.
Its rising involvement displays a broader push to bridge institutional capital with the digital asset ecosystem, significantly as extra crypto corporations discover public listings.
Cantor is a world monetary companies agency headquartered in New York. Based in 1945, it’s finest generally known as a serious participant in fixed-income buying and selling, significantly U.S. Treasuries, in addition to funding banking, brokerage, and asset administration.
Learn extra: Crypto custody agency Copper in early talks for IPO as crypto ‘plumbing’ turns into new Wall Road favourite
