Crypto IPO market stalls as capital rotates to AI and macro uncertainty weighs

The market for crypto initial public offerings has slowed sharply as investors rotate capital into other sectors and growing macroeconomic uncertainty dampens appetite for risk assets, according to Christian Lopez, head of blockchain and digital assets at investment bank Cohen & Company Capital Markets.

“The IPO market is a bit slower in the crypto space for obvious reasons,” Lopez told CoinDesk in an interview, pointing to last October's liquidity event as a turning point that drained capital from the digital asset ecosystem.

Retail investors who once fueled crypto markets have largely shifted their attention to artificial intelligence, he says, before expanding into other areas of the technology sector, including the so-called Mag 7 stocks. More recently, however, even AI-related equities have experienced sharp pullbacks, suggesting capital is rotating once again.

Macro headwinds

Crypto firms entered 2026 expecting a banner year for IPOs after successful listings by Circle (CRCL) and Bullish (BLSH), CoinDesk's parent company.

But weaker market conditions, softer trading volumes and disappointing post-listing performances, including BitGo's (BTGO), have since cooled enthusiasm for new offerings. Several major crypto firms, including Kraken parent Payward, Ethereum app builder Consensys, wallet provider Ledger and asset manager Grayscale, have all delayed IPO plans while waiting for markets to improve. Others are still moving ahead. Blockchain.com said in May it confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CoinDesk reported in May that crypto trading platform FalconX had also filed a draft S-1 registration with the SEC, the initial step toward a potential public listing.

Broader macro backdrop are weighing on sentiment, Lopez says. Uncertainty over interest rates has made investors particularly cautious toward high-beta assets such as crypto. While signals from the Federal Reserve and the Trump administration point toward a more deflationary environment that could eventually support rate cuts, global markets continue to face pressure from central bank actions and deleveraging, including recent moves by the Bank of Japan to defend the yen.

“Investors are hesitant to back a stock in an IPO because they're worried about whether there will be support in the aftermarket,” according to Lopez.

He says the market may not meaningfully reopen for crypto listings until next year, citing expectations that bitcoin's BTC$64,177.86 market cycle could bottom around October, noting that the broader crypto market has tended to follow the world's largest cryptocurrency's performance.