Crypto Exchange Bullish Launches IPO, to Raise $599 Million

Bullish, an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services, has announced that it has launched the roadshow for its initial public offering (IPO) of 20,300,000 ordinary shares.

Bullish intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 3,045,000 additional ordinary shares, at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions, it said in a statement.

Bullish intends to use the proceeds of this offering for general corporate and working capital purposes, including funding potential future acquisitions.

The IPO price is currently expected to be between $28 and $31 per ordinary share. The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or other terms of the offering. Bullish has applied to list its ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Billionaires Back Bullish

According to Ledger Insights, the company is backed by funds linked to German-born American entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel, alongside several billionaires. They include Alan Howard, co-founder of Brevan Howard, hedge fund manager Louis Bacon and Richard Li, the CEO of Hong Kong Telecom.

The timing of the IPO has been influenced by last week’s successful listing of stablecoin issuer Circle, which is currently trading at around 3.5 times its issuance price of $31, with a market capitalisation of almost $26 billion, Ledger Insights said.

The strong appetite for a crypto linked firm has encouraged several others to consider listings. Last week the Winklevoss twins announced that their Gemini crypto exchange had filed for a listing, and another exchange, Uphold, is also mulling an IPO.

If Bullish proceeds, the exchange’s substantial backing positions it for a potentially massive public debut, likely to be well north of $20 billion. Its founder, Block.One, invested $9.3 billion worth of bitcoin into the exchange in May 2021.

While it’s unlikely that Bullish is still sitting on the full amount, that volume of bitcoin would be worth more than $20 billion today. Block.One developed the EOSIO software that underpins the EOS blockchain.

EOS perfectly timed its initial coin offering (ICO) during the 2017 bull market, raising $4 billion, a massive amount at the time. Barring geopolitical surprises, the timing could be equally good for this offering.

Beyond its exchange operations, Bullish has been expanding its crypto media presence. The exchange also owns Coindesk, which it acquired from Digital Currency Group in November 2023, Ledger Insights added.

About Bullish

Bullish is an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. They include:

Bullish Exchange – a regulated and institutionally focused digital assets spot and derivatives exchange, integrating a high-performance central limit order book matching engine with automated market making to provide deep and predictable liquidity. Bullish Exchange is regulated in Germany, Hong Kong, and Gibraltar.

CoinDesk Indices – a collection of tradable proprietary and single-asset benchmarks and indices that track the performance of digital assets for global institutions in the digital assets and traditional finance industries.

CoinDesk Data – a broad suite of digital assets market data and analytics, providing real-time insights into prices, trends, and market dynamics. CoinDesk Insights – a digital asset media and events provider and operator of Coindesk.com, a digital media platform that covers news and insights about digital assets, the underlying markets, policy, and blockchain technology.