Bullish, the Cayman Islands-based crypto exchange is targeting a valuation of up to $4.23 billion in its U.S. initial public offering (IPO) listing. The announcement of Bullish IPO was as per its filing on Monday as it is ready to capitalize on the momentum built by digital assets as regulatory becomes clearer.
How “bullish” are traders for Bullish shall be decided next week as the company seems ready to raise as much as $629.3 million in its U.S. IPO. Companies leveraging crypto and related technologies have rallied on friendly policymaking from the Trump administration, such as the recent passage of the GENIUS Act, which provides an initial regulatory framework for stablecoins.
Bullish IPO debut
Peter Thiel-backed crypto IPO Bullish for its debut is looking for up to $629.3 million by offering 20.3 million shares. The Bullish stocks are priced between $28 and $31 each when it launches on New York Stock Exchange. This is its second try to go public in four years. This would make the valuation of Bullish at as much as $4.2 billion, making it the latest crypto firm to lure investors in the stock market.
Peter Thiel’s crypto IPO valuation
At the top of its proposed range, the company will list at a more than 52% discount to its $9-billion valuation target in a 2021 blank check merger that it called off in 2022, citing regulatory hurdles.
Bullish, backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, is planning to convert a major portion of its IPO proceeds into U.S. dollar stablecoins through one or more token issuers, as stated in its filing.
Crypto IPO wave
There is a continued crypto IPO wave as these companies have been a hot spot in what’s been a pretty slow IPO market this year and investors have been more than eager to snatch up shares. As seen earlier in June when Circle Internet a major stablecoin issuer had a fabulous debut at U.S. stock market in June. It currently trades at more than 400% of its IPO price.
Investors focus on Thiel-backed Bullish IPO
Bullish led by CEO Thomas Farley, former president of the NYSE, runs a crypto trading platform focused on institutional investors. It also owns CoinDesk, the crypto news site it acquired from Digital Currency Group in 2023.
Also, there is already a robust demand for Bullish shares: Funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and ARK Investment Management are separately interested in buying as much as $200 million of shares in aggregate at the IPO price, as per the company’s filing.
Bullish earnings
Bullish swung to a $349 million loss for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of $105 million a year earlier, reflecting a fall in fair value of its crypto holdings.
Meanwhile, largest public crypto exchange Coinbase reported a drop in Q2 adjusted profit on Friday, due to a slowdown in trading, which dragged its shares down nearly 17%, even though the company recorded portfolio gains.
Some investors tend to overlook the impact of quarterly swings in crypto prices when evaluating such companies, analysts have said.
Bullish Ticker
Bullish will come under the ticker symbol “BLSH,” and the IPO is expected to price on Aug. 12. J.P. Morgan, Jefferies and Citigroup are the lead underwriters.
