Goldman Sachs: U.S. IPO recovery is robust, but has not yet reached the frenzy levels of the dot-com bubble

According to CoinDesk, Goldman Sachs stated that U.S. IPO activity in 2026 doubled year-on-year, with approximately 50 companies having gone public and issuance volume reaching about $120 billion in dollar terms—matching the full-year record set in 2021. Ben Snider, Goldman Sachs’ Chief U.S. Equity Strategist, noted that this recovery is primarily driven by a wave of large-cap listings and financing demand tied to AI development—a “normal recovery” that remains fundamentally distinct from the speculative frenzy seen during the dot-com bubble. Currently, the average annual number of IPOs stands at roughly 100, far below the 250 IPOs in 2021 and the nearly 400 IPOs recorded at the peak of the 1999 bubble. Notably, crypto firms—including Payward (Kraken’s parent company), Consensys, Ledger, and Grayscale—have postponed or suspended their IPO plans amid market volatility and underwhelming post-listing performance. Meanwhile, high-profile AI- and tech-related IPOs such as SpaceX have successfully listed, drawing institutional capital away from the crypto market and into other sectors—exerting downward pressure on tokens and crypto-related stocks.