TLDR
- Crypto exchange Bullish (BLSH) surged 84% on its first trading day, closing at $68 after reaching intraday high of $118
- ARK Invest purchased 2.53 million Bullish shares worth $172 million across three ETFs
- Bullish raised $1.1 billion through its IPO, pricing shares at $37, above the expected $32-33 range
- The company, which owns CoinDesk, has processed over $1.25 trillion in trading volume since launching in 2021
- This IPO follows other major crypto listings including Circle, which gained 167% on its first trading day
Crypto exchange Bullish made a strong market debut on Wednesday, with shares soaring 84% above the initial public offering (IPO) price in its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company, which also owns crypto media outlet CoinDesk, priced its IPO at $37 per share, exceeding earlier expectations of $32-33.
Bullish shares opened at $90 and reached an intraday high of $118 before settling at $68 by the end of the trading session. This closing price represented an 84% gain from the IPO price and valued the company at over $10 billion. The stock continued its momentum in after-hours trading, climbing an additional 11.2%.
The Cayman Islands-based exchange raised $1.1 billion through the sale of 30 million shares. This marked Bullish’s second attempt at going public after a previous effort to list via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) fell through in 2021 amid rising interest rates and deteriorating market conditions.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest made a major investment in Bullish, purchasing 2.53 million shares worth approximately $172 million across three of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The purchases were distributed among ARK Innovation ETF (1,714,522 shares), ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (545,416 shares), and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (272,755 shares).
Wall Street Embraces Crypto
Bullish expanded its IPO to 20.3 million shares earlier this week due to strong investor demand. Both BlackRock and ARK Investment Management had expressed interest in purchasing up to $200 million worth of shares before the listing.
Unlike retail-focused exchanges such as Coinbase or Kraken, Bullish targets institutional investors seeking exposure to digital assets with the oversight and safeguards of a centralized platform. This approach appears to be resonating with traditional financial players as Wall Street’s interest in regulated crypto platforms grows.
“The last leg of growth in crypto in the last 10 years was basically all retail and if you look now, the institutional wave has begun, it’s here, it’s a question of how big it will be,” Bullish CEO Tom Farley said in an interview with CNBC.
The exchange has processed over $1.25 trillion in trading volume since its launch in 2021, according to company filings. Bullish operates through subsidiaries across multiple jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Gibraltar.
Part of a Broader Crypto IPO Trend
Bullish’s successful debut is part of a wave of crypto-related public offerings this year. In June, Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, raised $1.1 billion in its public debut, exceeding expectations with a 167% gain on its first day of trading.
Gemini, the exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, filed confidentially for a US listing on June 6. Both Winklevoss brothers supported Trump’s reelection bid and have backed crypto-focused political action committees.
Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, commented on the Bullish IPO:
“Bullish’s $1.1 billion IPO raise reflects growing institutional confidence in the crypto exchange sector, driven by a favorable regulatory environment under the Trump administration and Bitcoin’s surge past $100,000.”
The successful listing comes at a time when U.S. regulators are getting closer to establishing a regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency space. This progress is allowing more traditional financial institutions to engage with digital assets in a way they consider safer and more compliant with regulations.
Bullish’s strong market debut indicates that institutional investors are viewing centralized crypto exchanges as viable long-term investments. The company closed its first trading day with a market capitalization exceeding $10 billion, placing it among the largest publicly traded crypto companies.
Bullish’s IPO price of $37 per share valued the company at $5.4 billion before trading began. The subsequent price increase further demonstrates the market’s positive reception of the offering and growing confidence in the cryptocurrency sector.
