Cryptocurrency exchange
Bullish made a stunning Wall Street debut yesterday (Wednesday), with
shares more than doubling to give the company a nearly $13.2
billion valuation and mint two new crypto billionaires in the
process.
The
company’s stock opened at $90 and climbed as high as $118 before
settling at $68 – an 84% gain from its $37 IPO price. The debut
marked one of the year’s most successful public offerings and signals
growing mainstream acceptance of digital assets.
Bullish raised $1.1 billion in the offering after pricing shares above
its already-raised range of $32–$33. The company had initially targeted a
more conservative valuation but investor demand forced underwriters
to boost the price.
Bullish stock price after IPO. Source: Yahoo Finance
Bullish’s
successful IPO adds to a growing wave
of retail trading companies going public. The company joins an increasingly
crowded field of recent debuts including eToro, the Israeli-founded fintech
that went public on Nasdaq in May. eToro raised approximately $620 million at a
$52 IPO price, giving it a valuation of about $4.2 billion.
The NYSE welcomes @Bullish, the digital asset exchange, to celebrate its IPO! $BLSH@CoinDesk | @ThomasFarley https://t.co/83XyhdrM3l
— NYSE 🏛 (@NYSE) August 13, 2025
Like
Bullish, eToro also saw strong first-day performance, opening
at $69.69 and closing at $67 – a 29% gain from its offering price. However,
unlike Bullish’s institutional focus, eToro targets retail investors with its
social trading platform that allows users to copy strategies of successful
traders.
Founders Join
Billionaire Ranks
The
public listing catapulted co-founders Brendan
Blumer and Kokuei Yuan into the billionaire club.
Blumer, who serves as a board member, now holds a 30.1% stake
worth approximately $2.8 billion. Yuan, also a board member,
owns 26.7% valued at $2.5 billion.
Both men
previously struck gold in 2018 when their company Block.one
raised $4.2 billion through the largest initial coin offering in
crypto history. That venture, which created the EOS blockchain,
delivered early investors returns exceeding 6,500% before the
Securities and Exchange Commission later charged the company with
selling unregistered securities.
“We’ve
gone public today, and there’s a slew of others that are going
to follow us, and I think that is net beneficial, because it
gives people more options in terms of how they access this asset
class,” Bullish President Chris Tyrer told Reuters.
The first
plans to go public emerged in 2022, but
Bullish ultimately terminated the SPAC merger deal.
Institutional Play in
Crypto Boom
Unlike
retail-focused rival Coinbase, Bullish targets institutional
clients – a strategy that analysts say positions the
company for steadier revenue streams. The exchange has processed $1.25
trillion in total transactions through March and offers spot, margin
and derivatives trading.
The
timing couldn’t be better. Corporate treasuries are
adding crypto to their balance sheets, exchange -traded funds are
drawing billions in inflows, and regulatory clarity under the
current White House has emboldened institutional investors. Bitcoin
recently hit record highs above $120,000.
“A
pure institutional strategy positions Bullish for
more stable, recurring revenue than exchanges reliant on
retail volumes, which tend to be cyclical and sentiment-driven,”
said Michael Hall, co-chief investment officer at Nickel Digital
Asset Management.
Pedigreed Leadership
CEO Tom
Farley, the former New York Stock Exchange president,
brings Wall Street credibility that could prove crucial for
winning institutional mandates. His stake in the company is
now worth $355 million.
“For a
sector still overcoming reputational headwinds, that kind of
leadership experience can be a differentiator in securing
institutional mandates,” Hall noted.
The company
plans to convert much of its IPO proceeds into stablecoins,
dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies that have boomed since President
Trump signed legislation creating a regulatory framework for
the tokens.
More Crypto IPOs
Coming
Bullish joins Coinbase
as the only major crypto exchange trading on U.S. markets. But
that exclusivity won’t last long – exchange operator
Gemini and asset manager
Grayscale have both confidentially filed to go public.
The
company is also the parent of crypto news website
CoinDesk, which it acquired from Digital Currency Group
for $72.6 million in 2023.
Founded in
2021 with backing from Block.one, Bullish initially received
about $10 billion in seed assets including 164,000 Bitcoin. The
company still holds more than 24,000 Bitcoin worth over $1.7 billion
as of March.
Blumer, who
gave up his U.S. citizenship in 2020 and now lives in the Cayman
Islands, recently made headlines for purchasing a €170 million villa
in Sardinia – one of the largest residential deals in Italian
history.
The
successful debut provides a much-needed confidence boost for
crypto companies eyeing public markets after years of regulatory
uncertainty and market volatility.
Cryptocurrency exchange
Bullish made a stunning Wall Street debut yesterday (Wednesday), with
shares more than doubling to give the company a nearly $13.2
billion valuation and mint two new crypto billionaires in the
process.
The
company’s stock opened at $90 and climbed as high as $118 before
settling at $68 – an 84% gain from its $37 IPO price. The debut
marked one of the year’s most successful public offerings and signals
growing mainstream acceptance of digital assets.
Bullish raised $1.1 billion in the offering after pricing shares above
its already-raised range of $32–$33. The company had initially targeted a
more conservative valuation but investor demand forced underwriters
to boost the price.
Bullish stock price after IPO. Source: Yahoo Finance
Bullish’s
successful IPO adds to a growing wave
of retail trading companies going public. The company joins an increasingly
crowded field of recent debuts including eToro, the Israeli-founded fintech
that went public on Nasdaq in May. eToro raised approximately $620 million at a
$52 IPO price, giving it a valuation of about $4.2 billion.
The NYSE welcomes @Bullish, the digital asset exchange, to celebrate its IPO! $BLSH@CoinDesk | @ThomasFarley https://t.co/83XyhdrM3l
— NYSE 🏛 (@NYSE) August 13, 2025
Like
Bullish, eToro also saw strong first-day performance, opening
at $69.69 and closing at $67 – a 29% gain from its offering price. However,
unlike Bullish’s institutional focus, eToro targets retail investors with its
social trading platform that allows users to copy strategies of successful
traders.
Founders Join
Billionaire Ranks
The
public listing catapulted co-founders Brendan
Blumer and Kokuei Yuan into the billionaire club.
Blumer, who serves as a board member, now holds a 30.1% stake
worth approximately $2.8 billion. Yuan, also a board member,
owns 26.7% valued at $2.5 billion.
Both men
previously struck gold in 2018 when their company Block.one
raised $4.2 billion through the largest initial coin offering in
crypto history. That venture, which created the EOS blockchain,
delivered early investors returns exceeding 6,500% before the
Securities and Exchange Commission later charged the company with
selling unregistered securities.
“We’ve
gone public today, and there’s a slew of others that are going
to follow us, and I think that is net beneficial, because it
gives people more options in terms of how they access this asset
class,” Bullish President Chris Tyrer told Reuters.
The first
plans to go public emerged in 2022, but
Bullish ultimately terminated the SPAC merger deal.
Institutional Play in
Crypto Boom
Unlike
retail-focused rival Coinbase, Bullish targets institutional
clients – a strategy that analysts say positions the
company for steadier revenue streams. The exchange has processed $1.25
trillion in total transactions through March and offers spot, margin
and derivatives trading.
The
timing couldn’t be better. Corporate treasuries are
adding crypto to their balance sheets, exchange -traded funds are
drawing billions in inflows, and regulatory clarity under the
current White House has emboldened institutional investors. Bitcoin
recently hit record highs above $120,000.
“A
pure institutional strategy positions Bullish for
more stable, recurring revenue than exchanges reliant on
retail volumes, which tend to be cyclical and sentiment-driven,”
said Michael Hall, co-chief investment officer at Nickel Digital
Asset Management.
Pedigreed Leadership
CEO Tom
Farley, the former New York Stock Exchange president,
brings Wall Street credibility that could prove crucial for
winning institutional mandates. His stake in the company is
now worth $355 million.
“For a
sector still overcoming reputational headwinds, that kind of
leadership experience can be a differentiator in securing
institutional mandates,” Hall noted.
The company
plans to convert much of its IPO proceeds into stablecoins,
dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies that have boomed since President
Trump signed legislation creating a regulatory framework for
the tokens.
More Crypto IPOs
Coming
Bullish joins Coinbase
as the only major crypto exchange trading on U.S. markets. But
that exclusivity won’t last long – exchange operator
Gemini and asset manager
Grayscale have both confidentially filed to go public.
The
company is also the parent of crypto news website
CoinDesk, which it acquired from Digital Currency Group
for $72.6 million in 2023.
Founded in
2021 with backing from Block.one, Bullish initially received
about $10 billion in seed assets including 164,000 Bitcoin. The
company still holds more than 24,000 Bitcoin worth over $1.7 billion
as of March.
Blumer, who
gave up his U.S. citizenship in 2020 and now lives in the Cayman
Islands, recently made headlines for purchasing a €170 million villa
in Sardinia – one of the largest residential deals in Italian
history.
The
successful debut provides a much-needed confidence boost for
crypto companies eyeing public markets after years of regulatory
uncertainty and market volatility.
