The recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Linqto, a private investment marketplace, has sparked concerns among investors regarding the stability of private investments. However, EquityZen, a prominent secondary trading platform for private shares, asserts that Linqto's bankruptcy poses no threat to the broader pre-initial public offering (IPO) markets.
Linqto's Bankruptcy: An Isolated Incident
Linqto, known for facilitating investments in private companies like Ripple before their potential public listings, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday. Despite holding 4.7 million secondary shares of Ripple, EquityZen maintains that this event is isolated and will not impact other businesses operating in the pre-IPO market.
Atish Davda, co-founder and CEO of EquityZen, explicitly stated that Linqto's bankruptcy has "absolutely no bearing on EquityZen’s business or clients." He further assured that "investments made on EquityZen’s platform have no exposure to Linqto."
Understanding the Pre-IPO Market
The pre-IPO market involves investments in the unlisted shares of companies that have not yet gone public. This differs from a traditional IPO, where companies sell shares to the public to be listed on stock exchanges. Recent data from EquityZen indicates a significant resurgence of interest in pre-IPO investments, with a 56% increase in investor interest in June, reaching its highest level since March 2023. This rebound followed a brief 38% downturn in April, attributed to market volatility and risk aversion stemming from US tariff announcements.
Key Takeaways from EquityZen's Market Insights
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Crypto's Growing Influence: The cryptocurrency sector emerged as the sixth most popular industry for private investments on EquityZen's platform in Q2 2025. Brianne Lynch, EquityZen’s market insights director, noted that "Regulatory tailwinds and broader market adoption coupled with Circle’s hugely successful IPO drove investor interest in stable coins particularly."
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Leading Industries: Artificial intelligence led EquityZen’s pre-IPO market in Q2, followed by information technology and fintech.
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Top Pre-IPO Companies: Ripple was among the most popular pre-IPO markets on EquityZen in Q2, alongside SpaceX and Perplexity. Notably, Ripple was the sole crypto-related company in the top 10, which predominantly featured companies in space travel, AI, and defense.
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Crypto Movers: Despite Ripple being the only crypto company in the top 10, other crypto firms showed strong momentum. Stablecoin issuer Tether and crypto exchange Gemini were the biggest quarterly movers in Q2 on EquityZen. While Tether has consistently rejected an IPO, Gemini has moved forward with its IPO plans, submitting a confidential IPO filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on June 6.
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