Coin circle welcomes another heavyweight IPO! Peter Thiel-supported trading & media giant Bullish applies for listing.
Bullish, which has access to top cryptocurrency exchanges and major media outlets, has filed a registration document with the US SEC to apply for listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
Just as the capital frenzy triggered by the listing of stablecoin giant Circle gradually settles down, the cryptocurrency industry once again welcomes a major IPO: Bullish, which owns a coin trading platform and leading media in the coin circle, has submitted a registration document to the US SEC, applying for listing on the NYSE.
(Source: US Securities and Exchange Commission)
As a background, Bullish was founded in 2021, incubated by blockchain company Block.one and Silicon Valley celebrity investor Peter Thiel, among others. Peter Thiel also participated in strategic investments through the Founder's Fund and Thiel Capital, with other investors including Alan Howard and Nomura Securities.
By the way, just two months after its establishment, Bullish had attempted to go public on the US stock market through a shell listing. However, due to increasing speculation about Fed rate hikes and continuous scandals in the coin circle, it eventually had to abandon its plans.
After years of operation, Bullish's business landscape has also attracted more attention.
According to the prospectus, Bullish's business is mainly divided into two parts: the cryptocurrency exchange Bullish, and the data and media business Coindesk, acquired in 2023. In addition, the company holds over 24,000 bitcoins, ranking among the top five global listed companies in terms of bitcoin holdings after listing.
The prospectus reveals that as of the end of the first quarter of this year, the total trading volume of Bullish exchange since its establishment has exceeded $1.25 trillion. In 2024, the global spot trading volume of bitcoin (BTC/USDx) and ethereum (ETH/USDx) on the exchange was approximately $284.8 billion and $144.5 billion respectively.
In addition, in the first quarter of 2025, Bullish's average daily trading volume exceeded $2.5 billion, ranking among the top five in bitcoin and ethereum spot trading volumes. The company lists Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken as its main competitors.
At the same time, Coindesk is also a well-known provider of trading data, indices, activities, and leading media in the coin circle. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, the company's real-time professional data and research services served a total of 171,000 users globally. Meanwhile, the company's media website attracted a total of 55 million unique visitors in 2024.
Financial data shows that Bullish's digital asset sales in the first quarter of this year were $80.2 billion, equal to the same period last year, but the net loss was $348 million, compared to a net profit of $104 million in the same period last year.
However, the main difference in performance lies in the depreciation of digital assets held by the company, which recorded a $246 million impairment in the first quarter of this year. With the rising price of bitcoin, asset appreciation will provide a positive boost to future financial reports.
With Bullish now submitting an IPO application, it seems to have the idea of taking advantage of the hot US cryptocurrency legislation to go public.
In comparison, Circle submitted an S-1 form on April 1 this year, and subsequently went public through the approval process of the stablecoin bill in the US Senate. Since trading began on June 5, the company's stock price has climbed from an IPO price of $31 to a high of $298. The latest closing price is $223, corresponding to a market value of $49.8 billion. Considering that the current issuance of USDC is only $64.7 billion, this wave of speculation has already significantly taken into account the pre-issued amount of stablecoin rapid development.
(Circle daily chart, Source: TradingView)
For Bullish, the potentially "favorable" moment will be when the US Congress deliberates on the cryptocurrency regulatory framework bill. This week, the US House of Representatives has already voted to pass the "Clarity Act for Digital Assets Markets," but it is reported that the US Senate is considering introducing another version of the cryptocurrency regulatory framework. Therefore, it is currently expected by all parties that the voting point for this bill may be in September.
As a beneficiary of this round of global cryptocurrency legislation, Bullish is also rapidly pushing for licensing applications in various regulatory regions. In January of this year, the company obtained an encryption asset trading and custody license issued by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, allowing it to expand its services in the European Economic Area.
Subsequently in February of this year, the financial regulatory authorities in Hong Kong, China issued a virtual asset trading platform operator (VATP) license to Bullish. The company stated that it will continue to focus on institutional business, such as obtaining a large number of upgraded "number 1 license" Hong Kong brokerage licenses.
(Source: Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission)
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