The cryptocurrency exchange operator Bullish’s shares more than doubled in their NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) debut, boosting investor confidence in the industry and improving prospects for other digital asset firms to list in the United States in the future.
Bullish’s valuation was approximately USD 13.16 billion. CoinDesk’s parent company raised USD 111 billion in its initial public offering (IPO), valuing the company at USD 54.4 billion. This is another indication of widespread adoption in a market that recently surpassed USD 4 trillion.
“Bullish came out with an attractive initial valuation, and investors responded by aggressively bidding it up during the pre-IPO process,” said Jeff Zell, senior research analyst at IPO Boutique, as reported by Reuters.
As Bullish made its NYSE debut on August 13, its stock was seen trading at more than 150% of its IPO price of USD 37, having opened at USD 90. It peaked at USD 118 before slightly reducing its gains to trade at USD 92 to USD 160.
The once derided digital asset class has gained popularity among investors due to a series of regulatory victories under a pro-crypto White House, corporate treasury adoption, and ETF inflows, pushing bellwether bitcoin to all-time highs. Two other cryptocurrency companies that have filed confidentially to go public are asset manager Grayscale and exchange operator Gemini.
“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 in an interview.
“Bullish is close to concluding a two-year process to obtain a virtual currency license known as a BitLicense in New York, which would allow the company to operate in the state,” Tyrer said.
The BitLicense mandates that businesses adhere to capital, anti-money laundering, and know-your-customer regulations.
Bullish, backed by Peter Thiel, intends to convert a sizeable amount of the IPO proceeds to stablecoins, a segment of the cryptocurrency market that has flourished since US President Donald Trump signed the Genius Act, which established a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies.
Established in 2020, Bullish targets institutional clients, whose crypto holdings are expected to rise as a new White House order aims to allow alternative investments in 401(k) retirement plans.
“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 and founding partner at Nickel Digital Asset Management.