[Kraken Completes $500 Million Financing, Valuation Reaches $15 Billion, Plans to Go Public in Q1 Next Year] Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken completed a $500 million financing round in September, bringing its valuation to $15 billion. Investors include Apollo Global Management, Oppenheimer, Jane Street, and HSG (formerly Sequoia Capital China). Additionally, Qube Research & Technologies, Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi, and Tribe Capital, a venture capital firm co-founded by Sethi, also participated in this round of financing. This fundraising lays the foundation for Kraken's plan to go public in the first quarter of next year. The company is expected to confidentially file an IPO registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the end of the year, though it remains unclear whether the U.S. government shutdown will impact the timeline.