Yet another crypto enterprise is preparing to test public market waters, though this time with considerably more institutional backing and a price tag that suggests Wall Street has developed something approaching genuine enthusiasm for digital asset infrastructure.
Bullish, the Cayman Islands-based exchange operator founded in 2020, plans to raise approximately $975 to $990 million through an offering of 30 million shares priced between $32 and $33 each. The deal represents a remarkable evolution from initial filings that proposed 20.3 million shares at $28 to $31—a 63% increase in size that speaks to either genuine investor appetite or the kind of market exuberance that makes underwriters giddy with fee calculations.
The 63% expansion in share offering size reveals either authentic institutional demand or the intoxicating mathematics of Wall Street fee generation.
The company operates an institutional-grade digital asset exchange alongside ownership of crypto media brand CoinDesk, generating $223 million in revenue for the twelve months ending March 31, 2025. With trading volumes exceeding $1.25 trillion since launch, Bullish has carved out a position in the infrastructure layer that institutional investors apparently find more palatable than speculative token plays. The platform combines centralized exchange performance with decentralized finance transparency, utilizing blockchain technology and automated market making for enhanced liquidity.
BlackRock and Ark Invest have committed to purchasing $200 million worth of shares, providing the kind of cornerstone investment that transforms speculative offerings into respectable Wall Street ventures. The participation of JPMorgan, Jefferies, Citi, Cantor Fitzgerald, Deutsche Bank, and Societe Generale as underwriters further legitimizes what might otherwise be dismissed as another crypto moonshot. The company will trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol BLSH, marking another milestone in crypto’s mainstream integration. Unlike the highly volatile meme coin space that exhibits significant price fluctuations and defies traditional investment logic, Bullish represents the more stable infrastructure layer that institutional investors can evaluate using conventional financial metrics.
Bullish’s $4.8 billion valuation at the top end represents a significant premium to its previous $4.2 billion target, reflecting both crypto market momentum and the company’s shift to profitability. After reporting losses in prior quarters, the firm estimates net income between $106 and $109 million for Q2 2025—numbers that provide actual fundamentals for valuation models rather than pure speculation.
The offering, scheduled to price during the week of August 11, 2025, arrives amid broader institutional adoption by traditional financial giants and follows other successful crypto IPOs like Circle’s recent debut. Having previously abandoned a $9 billion SPAC deal due to regulatory complications, Bullish’s conventional IPO path suggests the regulatory environment has sufficiently clarified to support major crypto infrastructure offerings.
