Ledger has paused preparations for its U.S. IPO, according to two people familiar with the process, citing unfavorable market conditions. The French hardware wallet maker — which secured Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and Barclays as advisers in January for a listing that could have valued it at roughly $4 billion — has not yet filed a draft S-1 with the SEC. The pause puts it in the company of Kraken, which also shelved its multibillion-dollar IPO earlier this year after confidentially filing with regulators in late 2025. Ledger had been building toward a public push aggressively: it hired former Circle CFO John Andrews in March and opened a New York office focused on institutional clients. It may now opt to raise capital privately instead. BitGo remains the only crypto-native company to go public in 2026, raising $213 million at $18 per share in January.
Tomorrow's Senate Banking Committee markup will consider dozens of amendments to the CLARITY Act — virtually all expected to fail. The proposals, many from Democrats, seek to strip or rewrite significant portions of the bipartisan bill, including one that manages to reference Jeffrey Epstein. The conflict-of-interest provision Democrats most want — requiring officials to disclose or divest crypto holdings — remains outside the Banking Committee's jurisdiction and can't be added at this stage. The White House won't tolerate language targeting any specific officeholder. Galaxy puts the CLARITY Act's odds of becoming law in 2026 at roughly 50-50 — or lower.
U.S. PPI surged well above forecasts in April, reviving concerns that rising oil prices and Iran-related supply disruptions could feed another inflation wave — and sending bitcoin back below $80,000. 21Shares' Matt Mena said the data reflects mounting macro pressure but argued the latest shock may represent the "final flush of weak hands" before several bullish catalysts return. A prolonged break below $80,000 could push bitcoin toward $78,000, with $75,000 as the next major support zone. On the upside, Trump's upcoming China visit — with Xi Jinping — is being watched as a potential sentiment catalyst if trade tensions ease. Implied volatility on both bitcoin and ether remains near year-to-date lows, suggesting traders are not yet pricing in major near-term turbulence despite the macro headwinds.
