Following stablecoin issuer Circle, another "crypto" star made a dazzling debut in the U.S. stock market this year.
On Wednesday, August 13, Eastern Time, Bullish, the parent company of renowned cryptocurrency media CoinDesk and a digital asset trading platform, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BLSH. On its first trading day, the stock price doubled intraday, making Bullish another hot "crypto" IPO after the "first stablecoin stock" Circle.
Bullish opened at $90, a 143% surge from its $37 IPO price, and later climbed to $118, an increase of nearly 219%, pushing its market cap above $17 billion. Due to extreme volatility, trading was halted multiple times. By the close, the stock settled at $68, up nearly 84% for the day, with a market cap nearing $10 billion.
The $37 IPO price raised $1.1 billion, valuing the company at $5.41 billion. The final price far exceeded the guidance range, highlighting institutional investors' strong confidence in the crypto industry's institutionalization.
Heavyweight institutions like BlackRock and Cathie Wood's ARK Invest have expressed interest in subscribing up to $200 million in shares, providing a solid foundation for the offering.
Led by former NYSE President Tom Farley and backed by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, Bullish focuses on serving institutional investors. The company owns crypto news site CoinDesk, and since its 2021 launch, its platform has recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume.
IPO Pricing Exceeds Expectations, Strong Institutional Demand
Bullish's IPO performance far surpassed the traditional ideal first-day gain of 20%–30%.
The final $37 price was significantly higher than the upwardly revised guidance range of $32–$33 this week, exceeding it by 12.1%–15.6%. It also dwarfed the initial range of $28–$31, surpassing it by 19.4%–32.1%.
To curb excessive volatility, Bullish allocated about 20% of the offering to retail investors, higher than the usual sub-10% share. Before the IPO, the company secured $200 million in subscription interest from top institutions like BlackRock and ARK Invest, showcasing Wall Street's keen interest in crypto trading platforms.
Crypto IPO Wave Heats Up
Bullish is a key player in this year's wave of crypto listings on the U.S. stock market. In June, stablecoin issuer Circle went public, raising over $1 billion and surging 168% on its debut. Meanwhile, Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Digital moved from Toronto to Nasdaq, and stock/crypto trading app eToro secured a $5.4 billion IPO valuation.
Crypto custody startup BitGo and exchange Gemini have also secretly filed for U.S. listings. This IPO boom benefits from the Trump administration's crypto-friendly stance, with the president pledging to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the world."
This year, the U.S. IPO market has been strong, with 133 offerings over $50 million, up 58% year-over-year. New listings have averaged a 25% gain over IPO prices, compared to the past five years' average 20%+ declines.
Second Listing Attempt Succeeds
This marks Bullish's second listing attempt in four years. During the 2021–2022 crypto bull market, the company planned a SPAC merger at a $9 billion valuation, but the deal collapsed after the November 2022 FTX crash and subsequent crypto blowups.
In 2023, Bullish acquired CoinDesk from financially troubled Digital Currency Group. As of March, Bullish's platform averaged $2.6 billion in daily trading volume, offering spot and derivatives services primarily to institutional clients.
The company is backed by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and hedge fund manager Louis Bacon. Farley noted that with Bitcoin hitting record highs and regulatory improvements, "the market is pricing in blockchain's potential to power global finance."
