A debut that turned heads
The floor of the New York Stock Exchange exploded on Wednesday when Bullish (BLSH), a cryptocurrency exchange operator, finally listed. Its stock jumped in minutes to as high as $118 a share—a staggering 215% spike from its IPO price of $37—before settling down to close at $68. By Thursday morning, shares were flat at about $78, valuing the company at well over $10 billion.
Trading was so wild that regulators halted the stock twice in its initial couple of minutes of trading, an indicator that investors were sprinting in faster than the market could absorb. For a company that just a few years ago had to abandon a SPAC merger amid regulatory scrutiny, this IPO launch is nothing short of vindication.
What exactly is bullish?
Bullish is not an everyday crypto startup looking to stir up the waters. Conceived as a digital assets exchange solely targeting institutional clients—asset managers, hedge funds, and banks—its enormous trades are executed in spot as well as derivatives markets. Its prospectus states Bullish Exchange averaged $2.6 billion of daily trading volume alone during Q1.
It also controls CoinDesk, the well-known crypto news site, giving it significant ground on which to make its mark on the industry narrative. To its CEO, Thomas Farley—former NYSE president—Bullish is the future of a coming-of-age digital asset sector.
We now aim to IPO because we believe that the digital assets space is embarking on its next growth leg,” Farley wrote to shareholders. “The compliant, institution-focused market infrastructure model is battle-tested and successful, and Bullish is humbled to be the one to bring this successful paradigm to the crypto space.”
Why investors are so excited
The 2025 IPO mania has been hot and heavy, defying the notion that Wall Street would keep it cool this year. Bullish’s IPO caps off a quartet of behemoth offerings from design software firm Figma, blockchain giant Circle, and AI infrastructure firm CoreWeave—all of whom scored triple-digit returns out of the gate.
Bullish raised $1.1 billion selling 30 million shares at $37, more than double its initial $28–$31 range. Major industry players like BlackRock and Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest formed a line to buy as much as $200 million worth of stock—a show of confidence from institutions that few individual investors can afford to turn a blind eye to.
The timing is perfect. Bitcoin has appreciated more than 30% in the year to date, Ethereum more than 40%, and Ripple’s XRP 57%. Simply put, crypto markets are humming along once again, and investors are seeking access.
A comeback story after early setbacks
It is not the first time that Bullish has tried to go public. In 2021, the firm tried a merger with a SPAC at a $9 billion valuation, but regulatory issues and volatility in the markets caused it to cancel the move. Now, with the steadying of the cryptocurrency markets and institutional investment accelerating, Bullish appears to have caught the tide at the right moment.
The IPO was priced Bullish at $5.4 billion, but trading madness inflated that pricing to more than $10 billion in a few hours. Even after the first-day pullback in the stock, it’s one of the most stunning debuts of the year.
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What comes next for bullish
The challenge now is to sustain that hype. Crypto companies are notorious for soaring on IPO day but then struggling when the excitement wears off. But with Bullish’s focus on institutional clients, compliance with regulations, and staggering trading volumes, Farley believes that it is differentiated from flashier retail-based exchanges.
If he’s right, this might be more than a great first day on Wall Street. It could be a sign that the cryptocurrency space, after years of ups and downs, is maturing as a legitimate player in global finance—and Bullish wants to be at the centre of it.
