Bullish settled $1.15 billion IPO proceeds in stablecoins, a first for a U.S. IPO.
The Bullish crypto stock has slipped after its New York Stock Exchange debut, giving Ark Invest to buy more at a sizable discount.
The firm led by Cathie Wood added over one million shares as the crypto exchange settled its $1.15 billion IPO proceeds in stablecoins, a first for the U.S. market.
It is worth noting that Bullish crypto stock fell to $58.19 on August 20 in intraday trading hours, down 2% from the previous close of $59.51.
However, the share price reversed track and closed at $62.89, adding more than 5% in its previous session. The surge came in days after its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
However, amid the intraday dip, Ark Invest increased its stake in the company. The ARK Innovation ETF, run by Cathie Wood, disclosed ownership of 1,165,397 shares, valued at about $73.85 million.
On August 19, Ark Invest bought 356,346 shares, worth about $21.2 million at the close of trading.
Ark Invest had already taken a large position in Bullish. On its first trading day, the firm spread more than 2.5 million shares across three of its exchange-traded funds.
The latest purchase showed Ark’s continued interest in the stock, even as prices moved lower.
Bullish is the parent company of CoinDesk, a crypto news outlet. The company raised $1.15 billion in its initial public offering.
It sold about 20.3 million shares at $37 each. The listing marked one of the largest recent debuts in the crypto sector.
Bullish announced that it received all IPO proceeds in stablecoins instead of cash.
The exchange said the $1.15 billion settlement marked the first time a U.S. IPO was paid in this way.
Most of the proceeds were in USDC, a dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Circle.
Part of the total came in EURC, Circle’s euro-backed version. Coinbase was named as the custodian for the digital assets.
Jefferies acted as the billing and delivery agent for the offering. The firm handled the minting, conversion, and delivery of the stablecoins.
Most of the transactions took place on the Solana blockchain, which is known for faster processing speeds and lower costs compared with other networks.
Bullish also accepted smaller amounts of other stablecoins. These included Ripple’s RLUSD, PayPal’s PYUSD, and Agora’s AUSD.
Tokens from Societe Generale-FORGE, Global Dollar, World Liberty Financial, and AllUnity were also part of the settlement.
Chief Financial Officer David Bonanno said the exchange viewed stablecoins as a practical tool for global transfers. He noted that using digital tokens allowed the company to move funds quickly and securely.
Along with Bullish, Ark Invest increased its stake in Robinhood, another company tied to digital assets.
On August 20, Ark bought 150,908 shares of Robinhood, valued at about $16.2 million. The stock closed the day at $107.50.
This was the third straight trading day Ark purchased Robinhood shares. On August 19, the firm added $14 million, followed by $9 million on August 16.
The consistent buying showed Ark Invest’s interest in expanding positions in firms linked to the crypto sector.
Robinhood has become one of the firm’s most frequent crypto-related holdings.
Its trading app has been widely used by retail investors to buy cryptocurrencies, in addition to stocks and exchange-traded funds.
Bullish’s share price has moved sharply since its debut, revealing mixed investor sentiment.
Ark Invest’s latest purchases showed continued institutional interest in both Bullish and Robinhood as the crypto market worked through a period of recovery.
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