Ledger has reportedly paused plans for a U.S. initial public offering as market conditions turn less favorable for crypto companies seeking public listings.
The crypto wallet provider has not filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people familiar with the matter cited by CoinDesk. A confidential S-1 is typically one of the first formal steps toward a U.S. IPO. The same report said Ledger could consider alternatives, including private fundraising, while it waits for a better window.
The pause follows earlier reports that Ledger had hired Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and Barclays to work on a potential U.S. listing that could have valued the company at around $4 billion. In January, Financial Times-linked reporting placed the possible valuation above $4 billion and said the listing could come as early as 2026 if market conditions supported the deal.
Ledger did not confirm a new timetable. A spokesperson declined to comment on the reported delay.
Market Conditions Test Crypto IPO Timing
Ledger’s business sits at the center of crypto custody. The company is best known for hardware wallets that keep users’ private keys offline, a model built around signing transactions on a separate device rather than exposing keys to a browser or phone. Ledger says it has sold more than 8 million signers and that its products secure more than 20% of global crypto assets, according to its official website.
That custody angle gives Ledger a strong market identity, but the IPO window has become harder for crypto-native firms. Public-market investors have become more selective after weaker token prices, softer trading volumes, and uneven performance from recent digital asset listings. Kraken also paused its multibillion-dollar IPO plans earlier this year, despite having confidentially filed with the SEC in late 2025.
The reported delay does not mean Ledger has abandoned U.S. capital markets. It shows that timing remains a major factor for crypto infrastructure companies, especially when public investors are pricing custody, exchange, stablecoin, and wallet businesses against broader market liquidity. Hardware wallet demand may remain tied to self-custody adoption, but IPO pricing depends on investor appetite, comparable listings, revenue visibility, and confidence in crypto market cycles.
New York Remains Part Of Ledger’s Capital Markets Story
Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier has previously framed New York as the center of gravity for crypto capital. “Today, the money for cryptocurrencies is in New York. It’s nowhere else in the world, and certainly not in Europe,” he told the Financial Times in earlier comments quoted by Maddyness.
That view helps explain why a French crypto security company would explore a Wall Street listing instead of a European market debut. Ledger has also expanded its U.S. presence, including a New York office for institutional activity and a larger push around enterprise custody infrastructure.
The company’s role in self-custody keeps it exposed to one of crypto’s most durable user behaviors: moving assets away from exchanges and into wallets controlled by private keys. For users comparing wallet security models, hardware wallet custody remains tied to how signing, seed phrases, supply-chain checks, and transaction approvals are handled in practice.
Ledger’s reported IPO pause leaves the company private while it weighs fundraising alternatives. The next concrete markers are whether it files a draft S-1, completes a private round, or waits for stronger public-market demand before testing a valuation near the $4 billion level discussed earlier this year.
