Peter Thiel-Backed Bullish Crypto Exchange Soars 100%+ in Explosive Trading Debut

Wall Street meets crypto—again. Bullish, the exchange backed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, just ripped past its debut price like Bitcoin through a $20K resistance level.

From zero to hero (or zero to bagholder?)

No soft launch here. Trading volumes doubled out the gate—proving either rampant speculation or that VCs will throw money at anything with 'blockchain' in the pitch deck. Thiel’s bet? That institutional traders still crave a 'regulated' playground for their digital casino chips.

The fine print nobody reads

Liquidity surged, but let’s see if it holds when the Fed flinches. Because nothing tests a crypto exchange’s mettle like a good old-fashioned liquidity crisis—ask FTX’s lawyers.

Closing thought: If this rally holds, maybe Thiel’s next move is shorting the SEC.

Key Takeaways

• Shares of cryptocurrency exchange Bullish soared in their debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, after an upsized initial public offering.
• Bullish's launch comes after a series of strong crypto IPOs this year, pointing to improving appetite for new listings as major coins have climbed in value.
• The price of Bitcoin and Ether traded near record highs. They've surged this year amid optimism about a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment.

Shares of Bullish, a crypto exchange backed by PayPal (PYPL) founder and billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, soared in their debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday under the ticker "BLSH." 

The stock last traded hands around $92, nearly 150% above its initial public offering price of $37 per share, which topped its projected range of $32 to $33 that had been scaled up from $28 to $31 previously. 

Bullish sold 30 million shares in the offering, raising about $1.1 billion in proceeds. Its gains WOULD give it a market capitalization close to $15 billion, based on the number of shares outstanding listed in a regulatory filing.

The crypto exchange and owner of the CoinDesk crypto media site reported its trading volume grew 78% year-over-year in the first quarter, with an average daily volume of $2.55 billion, according to its prospectus filing.

Bullish's launch comes after a series of strong crypto IPOs this year, pointing to improving appetite for new listings while major cryptocurrencies have climbed in value amid Optimism about a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment. The price of Bitcoin and Ether traded near record highs Wednesday, with Bitcoin hovering around $121,800 and Ether above $4,700.