According to new research, Wall Street’s increasing interest in late-stage cryptocurrency firms could potentially alter the traditional boom-and-bust cycle of digital assets.
Matrixport, a crypto financial services company, announced on Friday that over $200 billion worth of crypto firms are gearing up for initial public offerings (IPOs), which could generate between $30 billion and $45 billion in new capital.
The firm noted that investors are shifting their focus from early-stage investments to more scalable, IPO-ready companies suitable for public markets.
Matrixport indicated that sustained selling by Bitcoin (BTC) miners and early investors has “nearly neutralized ETF and treasury inflows, minimizing volatility and reducing Bitcoin’s attractiveness to risk-averse investors.” Nevertheless, the firm stated that Wall Street has every incentive to sustain the bull market, with potential crypto IPOs amounting to $226 billion that could generate $30 to $45 billion in new capital.
This report comes as multiple prominent crypto companies, including the exchange Kraken, prepare to go public. Kraken reportedly recently secured $500 million in funding at a valuation of $15 billion, as noted by unidentified sources referenced by Fortune on Sept. 25.
Additionally, this announcement followed less than a week after crypto custodian BitGo filed to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under a US IPO submitted on Sept. 19, reporting approximately $90.3 billion in assets under custody, 4,600 entities, and 1.1 million users.
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ETFs indicate a potential “paper-backed altseason” for select altcoins
The findings from Matrixport align with earlier analyses predicting that the 2025 crypto market cycle is unlikely to feature an altcoin season reminiscent of previous years. Instead, select altcoins supported by institutional backing or notable exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings may surpass the broader market.
However, some analysts believe that on-chain trends suggest the onset of an altcoin season.
“While many investors are fixated on Bitcoin, ETH is quietly outperforming behind the scenes,” as Bitcoin’s dominance wanes toward “year lows,” noted Nic Puckrin, a crypto analyst and co-founder of The Coin Bureau.
“Historically, these trends signify a shift towards altcoins,” although he highlighted that the trend thus far has been selective.
“Although this market cycle has been markedly different from 2021, we are starting to see indicators of altcoin outperformance, albeit very selectively.”
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Other analysts are pointing to the influx of ETF filings awaiting approval as a potential catalyst for an upcoming altcoin season.
“Entering paper-backed altseason,” commented Ki Young Ju, founder and CEO of blockchain analytics platform CryptoQuant, in a Monday X post.
This development comes as the crypto sector anticipates the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decisions on pending crypto ETF filings linked to at least five tokens submitted in October.
The deadline for Canary Capital’s Litecoin (LTC) ETF was set for Oct. 2, yet the SEC has remained silent on the application. It is uncertain if the lack of response is due to the ongoing US government shutdown or new generic listing standards that would make the 19b-4 deadline irrelevant.
Several Solana (SOL) ETF filings from Grayscale, VanEck, 21Shares, and Bitwise are awaiting decisions by Oct. 10.
Later in the month, XRP (XRP) ETF filings from Grayscale, WisdomTree, Bitwise, and CoinShares are expected to receive feedback between Oct. 19 and 24.
Lastly, Grayscale’s Dogecoin (DOGE) ETF and the Cardano (ADA) ETF are both anticipated to receive final decisions before the end of October.
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