Peter Thiel-Backed Bullish Crypto Exchange Expands IPO to $990M—Signaling Big Bets on Digital Assets
Bullish just upped the ante—and Wall Street's sweating into its latte.
The crypto exchange, backed by PayPal mafia kingpin Peter Thiel, just boosted its IPO target to a whopping $990 million. That’s not a typo—it’s a middle finger to the 'crypto winter' narrative.
Why this matters:
When Thiel bets, markets listen. The man turned $500K into $1B with Bitcoin. Now his playbook’s going public—literally.
The fine print:
This isn’t some DeFi fly-by-night operation. Bullish runs on EOSIO blockchain tech and claims institutional-grade compliance. Translation: hedge funds can park Lambo money here without losing sleep.
The cynical take:
Another nine-figure crypto IPO? Either we’re early… or the SEC’s about to ruin another banker’s yacht season.
Bullish joins busy crypto IPO pipeline amid rising market activity
Bullish, which also owns crypto news platform CoinDesk, is part of a fresh wave of crypto companies entering the public market. The recent run in valuations and trading activity has been helped by stronger investor sentiment and clearer regulatory backing from Washington.
In June, stablecoin issuer Circle completed its IPO. In May, Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital shifted its listing to the Nasdaq, and trading app eToro also began trading publicly.
The list of pending entries is growing. Crypto custody firm BitGo has confidentially filed for a U.S. listing, and Gemini, run by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, is preparing for one as well. The momentum for these listings is building alongside a rally in cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin is now close to its all-time high after an overnight MOVE higher, trading at $119,782, up 1%, while Ether is at $4,181, down 1.6% after hitting its highest level since December 2021 on Sunday. On Friday, Ether crossed $4,000 for the first time since that month.
The rally has spilled into equities. U.S. stock futures rose earlier as investors waited for new inflation numbers, with the broader market sitting NEAR record levels. Shares of Coinbase climbed more than 5%, Circle gained 3%, and Galaxy Digital added 8%. Strategy, a listed proxy for bitcoin, rose more than 4%. Mining companies Mara Holdings, Riot Platforms, and Iren each advanced more than 3%.
Debt growth, Asian buying, and Ether-linked gains drive momentum
Some traders had expected a slowdown in August, a month that’s typically weak for crypto, after the hot run in the second quarter. Instead, the market has stayed active, with much of the buying coming during Asia’s trading hours.
Markus Thielen, CEO of 10x Research, linked the move to the rapid expansion of U.S. debt. He pointed to President Donald Trump’s early July signing of the Big Beautiful Bill, which included a $5 trillion debt ceiling increase, as the key moment that pushed Bitcoin out of its trading range.
“Bitcoin’s breakout isn’t random, it’s being fueled by the fastest U.S. debt expansion in history and that momentum isn’t slowing down,” Thielen said. He added that the $133,000 level is now the next major test for the market and that both strong and weak economic conditions could keep demand high for bitcoin and gold.
Ether-related stocks have also rallied. Bitmine Immersion Technologies jumped 25% on Monday after gaining almost the same on Friday. SharpLink Gaming ROSE 11%. Data from SoSoValue shows Ether exchange-traded funds brought in $326.83 million in inflows last week, topping bitcoin ETF inflows of $246.75 million.
The crypto market’s gains put it within striking distance of previous records. Bitcoin is about 3% below its July 14 all-time high, while Ether remains 14% below the peak it set in November 2021.
KEY Difference Wire helps crypto brands break through and dominate headlines fast
