The cryptocurrency market has been abuzz with anticipation as several major players gear up for initial public offerings (IPOs) in the coming months. This heightened excitement has translated into a surge in demand for shares of private crypto companies, such as Circle, Kraken, and Chainalysis, in the secondary market.

According to the latest Bloomberg report, private investors and crypto funds have been actively buying shares of these soon-to-be-public crypto firms, driving up their prices significantly. The implied price for equity of crypto exchange Kraken, for instance, has increased by a staggering 77% year-to-date. Similarly, the share prices of Ripple and Chainalysis have also seen substantial gains of 13% and 17%, respectively.

Andrew Saeta, the co-head of institutional sales at Forge Global, a trading platform, noted that the crypto buy-side demand during the first half of 2024 was 28% higher than it was during the second half of 2023. This robust demand is a testament to the growing institutional interest in the crypto space, particularly in the wake of the launch of the spot Bitcoin ETF, which has been a major catalyst for the recent crypto market rally.

The upcoming US presidential elections in 2024 have also brought crypto policy to the forefront, further fueling investor interest in the sector. However, despite the surge in valuations, the demand for crypto firm shares remains considerably below the levels seen in 2021, indicating that there is still room for growth.

Stan Miroshnik, the founder of TenSquared Capital, highlighted that many secondary market deals are still trading at discounts ranging from 40% to 70% below their most recent funding rounds, presenting an opportunity for investors. He noted that "it's a good time to be re-evaluating secondary opportunities as many of larger crypto companies have shown strong operating performance over the last six months and the fundamentals have improved significantly."

If the crypto market rally continues, industry experts predict that we could see a flood of crypto IPOs hitting Wall Street by the end of 2024 or early 2025, further fueling the demand for shares of these promising companies.