Maya, a Philippine digital bank whose platform includes a regulated crypto trading arm, is reportedly exploring a U.S. initial public offering of up to $1 billion.
A U.S. venue could provide access to deeper pools of capital and broaden its institutional investor base more than local markets, particularly as regional exchanges have seen limited large-scale tech listings in recent years.
Maya operates under a digital banking license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and offers savings accounts, consumer loans, payments, and merchant services through its app.
In addition to core banking services, Maya provides in-app cryptocurrency trading under a regulated virtual asset service provider framework. The company has not publicly disclosed how much revenue or transaction volume its crypto segment contributes to the broader business.
Users of Maya’s digital wallet and banking app have reported intermittent difficulties executing crypto trades, with some alleging that the platform’s “Buy” and “Sell” buttons become disabled and “grayed out” for certain tokens during periods of sharp price increases.
Maya did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt.
Assets posting double-digit gains within short timeframes were marked “temporarily unavailable,” while less volatile cryptocurrencies remained tradable, according to screenshots and accounts shared with Decrypt by a source familiar with the matter.
The issues have prompted complaints from users who said they were unable to enter or exit positions when needed.
The potential move comes amid a gradually reopening window for technology and fintech IPOs in the U.S., though investor scrutiny remains high.
On the groundLocal observers say the reported IPO raises questions about timing, governance, and how U.S. investors would assess a Philippine digital bank with crypto exposure.
A U.S. listing is “doable, but the timing will be judged on whether the company can present a stable, bank-quality earnings story in a market that’s still selective,” Nathan Marasigan, Partner at Manila-based MLaw Office, told Decrypt.
At the moment, investors appear to be “rewarding predictability or a clear profitability trajectory, disciplined risk management, and governance, more than just pure growth potential,” Marasigan said, adding that the timing could land well if “bank fundamentals are strong and the crypto component is clearly controlled and non-disruptive to Maya's core story.”
The crypto segment could either support or complicate the IPO case, depending on how it is governed and disclosed, Marasigan added.
If crypto becomes a significant source of revenue or growth, “investors will usually apply more caution because crypto can bring higher volatility and a heavier regulatory spotlight,” he said.
Maya’s reported U.S. IPO appears as “purely a capital-market arbitrage opportunity,” Paolo Lising, researcher at crypto-backed venture capital firm Sora Ventures, told Decrypt.
“While a U.S. listing can address Maya's funding and liquidity issues, the more significant challenge remains developing scalable, risk-aware financial infrastructure in the Philippines,” he said, adding that “adoption is currently outpacing both financial literacy and regulatory capacity” in the country.
Still, U.S. investors are “unlikely to evaluate Maya in isolation,” instead, they might increasingly adopt a country-specific and regional lens that would compare the Philippines to its peers, he explained.
“Digital payments will be the central theme in crypto over the next two years. A well-executed IPO that aligns product, infrastructure, and regulation has the potential to establish the most trustworthy on-ramp for the region,” he added.
