Crypto Exchange Bullish Expands IPO Size—Signals Confidence Ahead of Wednesday Market Debut

Bullish just upped the ante—and its IPO size—days before hitting the public markets. Here’s why traders are paying attention.

The pre-debut power move

No timid entry here. The crypto exchange boosted its offering size, telegraphing confidence (or maybe just Wall Street-grade FOMO) ahead of its Wednesday debut. Classic finance playbook—pump the optics before the opening bell.

Timing is everything

With Bitcoin flirting with recent highs and institutional money creeping back in, Bullish picked its moment. Whether that’s strategic genius or just lucky timing depends on who you ask—and how Wednesday’s trading goes.

The cynical take

Let’s be real: bigger IPO doesn’t always mean better fundamentals. Sometimes it just means better marketing. But in crypto? Even the optics can move markets.

Bullish, the Peter Thiel-backed cryptocurrency exchange led by former New York Stock Exchange president Tom Farley, has expanded its initial public offering amid strong investor appetite for digital asset companies.

The company now plans to sell 30 million shares priced between $32 and $33 each, targeting up to $990 million in proceeds and a valuation approaching $5 billion, according to an updated SEC filing on Monday. This marks a significant increase from its initial proposal of 20.3 million shares at $28 to $31 per share.

Bloomberg reported that the IPO is over 20 times oversubscribed.

BlackRock and Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management have expressed interest in purchasing up to $200 million worth of shares at the IPO price, signaling institutional confidence in the offering.

The expanded deal reflects renewed Wall Street enthusiasm for cryptocurrency businesses following regulatory clarity from Washington and bitcoin's recent surge past $100,000. Circle's successful public debut in June helped pave the way for other crypto companies to access public markets.

Bullish reported handling $250 billion in digital asset trades in 2024, more than double its 2022 volume of $72.7 billion. The company projects net income of $106 million to $109 million for the second quarter of 2025, a sharp turnaround from a $116.4 million loss in the same period last year.

The exchange, which also owns crypto news site CoinDesk following its 2023 acquisition, positions itself as a bridge between traditional finance and digital assets. Farley, who led a $10 million NYSE investment in Coinbase in 2014, said the company was "conceived to enable institutional adoption of digital assets technology."

JP Morgan, Jefferies and Citigroup are leading the underwriting syndicate for the offering, which is expected to price Tuesday evening. Shares will begin trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "BLSH."

The proposed valuation represents a discount to Bullish's previous $9 billion enterprise value from a failed SPAC merger attempt in 2022, when public market conditions were less favorable for new offerings.