Haider Rafique, global managing partner and chief marketing officer of OKX, poured cold water on IPO speculation at the Digital Asset Summit in New York, stating there is no fixed timetable for going public. The only condition is confidence in delivering shareholder returns.
“We will go public when we are confident we can create returns for shareholders. Without that confidence, I don't think we have any intention to enter public markets,” Rafique said.
The remarks come shortly after Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, completed a strategic investment in OKX. The timing had fueled market chatter about an impending IPO, but Rafique's response was a clear reality check. He stressed that the conservative valuation was carefully designed, not a sign of weak growth prospects.
Why $25 Billion Was 'Very Deliberate'
OKX's latest funding round valued the company at $25 billion with ICE as a strategic investor — a price many market participants considered low. Rafique confirmed this was intentional. “Given our revenue growth, the number of licenses we hold, and the size of our assets, I think we have certainly undervalued ourselves,” he said. The core logic: a lower entry price leaves more upside for public market investors down the road, securing sustainable long-term returns.
While the comment carries a self-congratulatory tone, the crypto industry has seen many unicorns inflate their valuations in private rounds, only to face down-rounds during market downturns — a devastating blow to team morale and early backers. Moreover, ICE is one of the world's most powerful financial infrastructure operators. For OKX, the endorsement value of the deal likely far outweighs a few billion dollars in valuation difference.
Lessons From Coinbase: A Stock Down 50%
Rafique used a first-person example to highlight a peer that struggled post-IPO — widely interpreted as Coinbase. “I bought one share… that one share is now down 50%. That's not good. It hurts the whole industry.” Coinbase went public at around $381 in 2021 via direct listing, then suffered years of decline. Even after a crypto bull market revival in 2024, the stock has fallen again in recent months. Yesterday it closed at $173.38, still roughly half the reference price at listing.
Rafique drew a broader parallel between rushed IPOs and the token listing bubble: “If we approach going public the same way we approached ICOs, the same way we approached the 5 million token listings last year… then I think this industry is finished.”
OKX has not disclosed any specific IPO timeline but emphasized that the partnership with ICE will explore R WA tokenized securities platforms, enabling 24/7 trading, instant settlement, and stablecoin deposits and withdrawals.