Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Exchange Bullish Files for IPO
(Bloomberg) — Bullish, a digital-asset exchange operator whose backers have included billionaire Peter Thiel, filed for an initial public offering in the latest push onto public markets by cryptocurrency companies.
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The company, based in the Cayman Islands, had a net loss of about $349 million on digital-asset sales of $80 million in the first quarter, compared with net income $105 million on roughly the same sales a year earlier, according to its filing Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The filing sees Bullish joining a growing number of crypto companies pursuing public listings this year, either through conventional IPOs, merging with blank-check vehicles or reverse takeovers. The most notable was stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group Inc., whose shares have surged as much as 750% above their IPO price in the first month following the $1.2 billion offering.
Crypto firms in the US have benefited from the Trump administration’s support of the industry and Congress advancing crypto legislation, culminating with this week’s passage and signing of the Genius Act to regulate stablecoins.
Led by Chief Executive Officer Tom Farley, Bullish’s exchange offers crypto spot trading, margin trading and derivatives trading, but its margins and derivatives products aren’t currently available in the US or to US users.
“We intend to IPO because we believe that the digital assets industry is beginning its next leg of growth,” Farley wrote in a letter to investors in Friday’s filing. “We view transparency and compliance as hallmarks of how we operate Bullish, and believe those values align well with the public capital markets,” he said.
Bullish bought media outlet CoinDesk from Digital Currency Group in 2023 for an undisclosed amount.
Bullish’s biggest investors include Block.one CEO Brendan Blumer, Pu Luo Chung VC Private Ltd. and Ale xander See, and affiliates of them, according to the filing.
The company announced in 2021 that it planned to go public through a special purpose acquisition vehicle, but it put that plan on hold.
The offering is being led by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. The company plans to make its debut on New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BLSH.