OKX ‘Considering’ U.S. IPO, Native Token Sees 9.8% Spike: Report

Crypto exchange OKX is “considering” an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. as its preferred market, The Information reported on Sunday, citing an interview with the firm’s chief marketing officer.

“We will absolutely consider an IPO in the future,” said Haider Rafique, chief marketing officer. “If we go public, it would likely be in the U.S.”

Reports of Rafique’s comments brought about a 9.8% jump in OKX’s native token OKB. From trading just above $50, OKB spiked to $55.11 before falling back to the where it was before the news.

OKX established a U.S. headquarters in San Jose, California in April, having settled charges with the Department of Justice for operating in the country without a money transmitting license, for which it agreed to pay a $500 million fine.

Should the Seychelles-based exchange now be weighing up an IPO, it would demonstrate a newfound confidence in its U.S. operations.

Along with OKX, crypto exchanges Kraken and Bullish (owned by Bullish Group, which is also CoinDesk’s parent company) both have plans to go public in the U.S.

Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) completed its long-awaited IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the start of this month, with its shares climbing 675% since.

OKX declined to comment when contacted by CoinDesk on the matter.