Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest purchased 2.53 million shares of crypto exchange Bullish across three of its ETFs on Wednesday, coinciding with the company’s highly anticipated IPO.
Trade filings show that the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) acquired 1,714,522 shares, the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) added 545,416 shares, and the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) bought 272,755 shares. Based on Bullish’s $68 closing price, ARK’s total investment was roughly $172 million.
Bullish’s stock closed its debut trading session up 83.8% from the $37 IPO price, giving the company a market capitalization exceeding $10 billion. In after-hours trading, shares rose another 11.2%.
The stock opened at $90 and reached an intraday high of $118—more than 215% above its IPO price—before settling back toward the close.
Bullish raises $1.1 billion
The Cayman Islands-based company, which runs a cryptocurrency exchange and owns CoinDesk, priced its IPO above earlier projections of $32–$33 per share, raising $1.1 billion through the sale of 30 million shares, according to Reuters.
This marked Bullish’s second attempt to go public. The exchange previously pursued a SPAC listing in 2021, but the deal fell through as market conditions deteriorated amid rising interest rates.
Bullish operates through subsidiaries in multiple jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Gibraltar.
The crypto IPO boom continues
The Bullish listing comes amid a wave of high-profile crypto IPOs this year. In June, Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, raised $1.1 billion in its public debut, surpassing expectations with a record-setting 167% gain on its first day of trading.
Earlier that month, Gemini, the exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, filed confidentially for a U.S. listing. The Winklevoss twins, known for supporting Trump’s reelection campaign, have also backed crypto-focused political action committees.
