Peter Thiel’s ‘Bullish’ Crypto Play Shakes Wall Street With NYSE Listing

Silicon Valley's favorite contrarian just lobbed a grenade at traditional finance. Peter Thiel-backed crypto exchange Bullish is going public on the NYSE—because nothing says 'disruption' like playing by the old guard's rules.

The move comes as institutional investors finally wake up to what crypto natives knew years ago: the future of finance won't be built on 19th-century infrastructure. Even if it still uses their stock tickers.

Wall Street's reaction? A mix of FOMO and thinly-veiled contempt—the usual cocktail when billionaires threaten their monopoly. Meanwhile, the SEC is reportedly drafting regulations in crayon as we speak.

One thing's certain: when the guy who called Bitcoin 'digital gold' in 2014 makes his biggest play yet, even the suits pay attention. Even if they'll never admit it over martinis at the club.

Major Wall Street Firms Back Bullish IPO

Bullish’s path to becoming a publicly traded company is gaining serious momentum, with some of Wall Street’s most prominent names supporting the offering. According to the IPO filing, J.P. Morgan and Jefferies are acting as the lead book-running managers for the proposed offering, highlighting institutional interest in the crypto-native exchange. Citigroup is also participating as a joint book-running manager, reinforcing the growing intersection between traditional finance and the digital asset space.

Additional book-running managers include Cantor, Deutsche Bank Securities, and Societe Generale, signaling a global appetite for exposure to crypto infrastructure companies. Meanwhile, Canaccord Genuity, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (a Stifel Company), and Oppenheimer & Co. are listed as co-managers of the offering.

The IPO, once approved, will be conducted strictly through a prospectus. Interested investors will be able to access the preliminary prospectus, once available, via the SEC’s EDGAR system at www.sec.gov.

As outlined in the filing, Bullish has surpassed a significant milestone—reporting more than $1.25 trillion in total trading volume since its launch. This figure showcases not only the exchange’s operational scale but also its appeal to institutional traders and sophisticated investors. With heavyweight financial firms backing the offering and crypto momentum building, Bullish’s IPO could mark a turning point in the public market’s acceptance of digital asset platforms.

Total Crypto Market Cap Breaches $3.7 Trillion With Strong Weekly Momentum

The total crypto market cap has officially broken above $3.7 trillion, printing one of the strongest weekly candles since the start of 2024. The chart shows a clear continuation of the broader bullish structure, as the market decisively pushed through previous resistance near the $3.5 trillion level. This surge is accompanied by a noticeable increase in volume, indicating strong participation and confidence from buyers.

All major moving averages are now trending upward, with the 50-week moving average crossing well above the 100-week and 200-week lines, reinforcing the longer-term uptrend. Price remains significantly above the 50-week SMA at $2.88 trillion, showing the market’s current strength and distance from any immediate downside risk.

This breakout confirms a higher high, extending the bullish pattern that started after the 2022 bear market bottom. With bullish sentiment returning, many analysts are now watching the $4 trillion level as the next key psychological and technical target.

Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView