Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has frozen its IPO plans due to difficult market conditions, considering a restart once conditions improve.

Insiders revealed that Kraken's parent company Payward secretly submitted an S-1 registration draft to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 19 last year. This pause is primarily due to the ongoing decline in the crypto market since Bitcoin reached its historical high last October, with trading volumes shrinking and investor sentiment becoming cautious.