CoinDesk Owner Bullish Seeks $629 Million IPO Offering

• Bullish aims to raise up to $629.3 million in US IPO, pricing 20.3 million shares at $28–$31.
• BlackRock and ARK plan to buy up to $200 million of shares at IPO price.
• Company reported a $348.6 million loss in Q1 on $80.2 million in sales, after scrapping a 2022 SPAC deal.

Bullish is preparing to go public in the United States with a planned initial public offering that would raise up to $629.3 million, positioning the company for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BLSH. The offering comes after a previously abandoned attempt in 2021 to go public via a special purpose acquisition company, and amid a broader resurgence of investor interest in crypto-related listings as regulatory clarity has shifted sentiment. This article lays out the key elements of the IPO, the ownership and backing structure, recent financial performance, and how Bullish fits into the current digital-asset market landscape.

Bullish IPO pricing and valuation

Bullish intends to offer 20.3 million shares at a price range of $28 to $31 each, which, if priced at the top of that range, would imply a market valuation of roughly $4.2 billion on the basis of the outstanding shares disclosed in its SEC filing. The raise of up to $629.3 million is being structured to draw in strategic institutional interest: BlackRock Inc. and ARK Investment Management have separately signaled interest in purchasing as much as $200 million of shares in aggregate at the IPO price. The planned pricing date in mid-August—specifically August 12—puts the timing just ahead of broader market expectations for crypto-related capital markets activity. The combination of the size of the raise, anchor interest from large asset managers, and the targeted NYSE listing under “BLSH” frames the IPO as a calibrated effort to establish a public capital base while leveraging institutional credibility.

Bullish ownership and backing structure

The shareholder base and pre-IPO ownership of Bullish reflect both legacy ties and concentrated control. Former Block.one CEO and co-founder Brendan Blumer is expected to retain a significant stake, projected to own about 30.1% of shares following the offering, while board member Kokuei Yuan is set to hold roughly 26.7%. Block.one itself reduced its ownership to below 50% in July 2024, altering the prior subsidiary relationship and opening more visible governance dynamics for public investors. The company’s broader capitalization includes backing and influence from high-profile investors linked historically to the firm, including ties to Peter Thiel via early-stage support, which is noted in public coverage of the firm’s evolution and its prior confidential IPO preparations.

Bullish financial performance and path to public markets

Bullish’s recent financial results show a sharp reversal from profitability to a large loss in a one-year span. For the three months ending March 31, 2025, the exchange recorded a net loss of approximately $348.6 million on digital-asset sales of $80.2 million, compared with net income of $104.8 million on $80.4 million of sales in the same quarter a year earlier. That swing reflects either elevated investment in growth, market volatility, or structural changes in revenues versus costs; the level of reported loss is materially large relative to the revenue base. The current IPO follows a failed attempt to go public via a SPAC merger announced in 2021 and abandoned in 2022, which at the time would have valued the combined entity at about $9 billion. That earlier effort’s collapse, attributed to a mix of regulatory headwinds and market conditions, sets a contrast to the current direct listing approach.

Bullish market positioning and product offerings

Bullish operates as a digital-asset exchange with a focus on institutional clients, offering spot trading, margin trading, and derivatives trading. Its derivatives and margin products are not yet available to U.S. users, indicating a segmented go-to-market implementation across jurisdictions. The platform also provides liquidity services targeted at stablecoin issuers, which aligns with broader demand for deep and institutional-grade liquidity in a maturing crypto infrastructure ecosystem. In addition to its trading operations, Bullish owns media and data assets through its acquisition of CoinDesk in 2023, integrating market data, indexes, and journalistic output into its broader ecosystem. That acquisition gives Bullish both content distribution reach and proprietary market insight tools, embedding a data-and-media layer beneath its trading identity.

IPO timing, underwriters, and wider sector context

The timing of the Bullish IPO comes as the crypto capital markets have seen renewed activity. Increased legislative movement under the current U.S. administration and a shift toward clearer regulatory signaling have coincided with other high-profile public issuances in the space, including the notable performance of stablecoin-related offerings such as Circle Internet Group’s debut, which provided a visible benchmark for investor appetite after its post-IPO price movement. Bullish has engaged major investment banks to lead the offering—JPMorgan Chase & Co., Jefferies Financial Group Inc., and Citigroup Inc.—providing syndicate depth and distribution capability for the shares. The combination of institutional backstops, visible market peers’ performance, and the scheduled mid-August pricing situates Bullish’s IPO amidst a period where public-market investors are re-evaluating exposure to digital assets.

Operational and governance signals ahead of listing

Leadership at Bullish includes Tom Farley, former president of the New York Stock Exchange, serving as chief executive officer, which adds a layer of traditional market experience to the company’s crypto-native operations. The mix of legacy digital asset institutional infrastructure, media ownership, and traditional finance leadership is reflected in public disclosures and framed as part of the narrative for bridging conventional capital markets with the digital-assets sector. The ownership structure’s concentration, with key insiders holding large post-IPO stakes, raises typical public-market scrutiny points around governance, voting control, and alignment with outside investors. That dynamic will likely factor into investor due diligence in the lead-up to and shortly after the listing.

Competitive landscape and implications for institutional adoption

Bullish is entering the public markets alongside other crypto exchanges and asset managers that have either filed or pursued U.S. listings, such as Gemini and Grayscale, reflecting a broader institutional push to legitimize and scale digital-asset trading platforms. The exchange claims meaningful trading volume positioning relative to peers, and its institutional product set is aimed at clients seeking regulated liquidity and execution capabilities outside the retail-dominated channels. The visibility of its public listing attempt, together with the performance of comparable listings, will play a role in how capital allocators perceive exchange durability, transparency, and risk management relative to incumbent competitors.

Conclusion

The Bullish IPO is a calibrated step to convert private backing and a mixed recent performance record into a public capital structure, hinging on institutional interest, a reputable underwriting syndicate, and a narrative of bridging traditional and crypto markets. The offering’s valuation, ownership concentration, prior failed SPAC attempt, and current financial results are central to how public investors will assess the risks and potential of the company as it seeks to debut under the symbol BLSH.

Disclaimer

The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The article does not offer sufficient information to make investment decisions, nor does it constitute an offer, recommendation, or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument. The content is opinion of the author and does not reflect any view or suggestion or any kind of advise from CryptoNewsBytes.com. The author declares he does not hold any of the above mentioned tokens or received any incentive from any company.

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