Crypto exchange Bullish made a powerful public debut, closing its IPO day at $70 – up 90% from its listing price and briefly peaking at $118. Backed by major players like BlackRock, Ark Invest, and Peter Thiel, Bullish capitalized on a red-hot IPO environment.
Bullish [BLSH] a cryptocurrency exchange operator, closed its first day of trading at $70 per share; a 90% jump from its IPO price of $37.
The rally briefly pushed the stock as high as $118 before cooling off, giving the company a market cap above $10 billion.
Bullish’s IPO is a turnaround from its first attempt to go public in 2021 through a SPAC merger, which collapsed under regulatory pressure.
This time, the company exceeded expectations, pricing shares above its targeted range and raising $1.1 billion.
CEO Tom Farley stated in a letter to the investors,
“We now intend to IPO because we believe that the digital assets industry is beginning its next leg of growth…”
With major backers like BlackRock and Ark Invest, Bullish entered the market with institutional momentum.
“I believe that the digital assets industry is at the inflection point of institutional adoption and Bullish is uniquely positioned at the center of this market.”
He further stated,
“The compliant, institutional- focused market infrastructure model is time-tested and works, and Bullish is proud to be the one bringing this proven framework to the crypto landscape.”
The timing worked in Bullish’s favor.
2025 has seen a revival in IPO activity, with offerings from Circle, Figma, and CoreWeave delivering strong early gains.
Circle’s shares remain more than 120% above their debut price, and CoreWeave has doubled since March.
According to Renaissance Capital, IPO volume this year is up 58% compared to 2024. Bullish joins the list of high-profile tech and fintech listings that are helping to keep the IPO window wide open after several slow years.
Beyond market conditions, Bullish is also benefiting from a strong year for digital assets. Bitcoin [BTC] is up over 30% in 2025, while Ethereum [ETH] has gained more than 40% and Ripple’s XRP [XRP] is ahead by 57%.
Bullish processed $2.6 billion in average daily trading volume in Q1. Combining its exchange operations with ownership of crypto news outlet CoinDesk, the company is betting on both trading growth and media influence.
