Crypto Exchange Bullish Files for U.S. IPO as Digital Asset Enthusiasm Mounts: FT

Crypto exchange Bullish confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the situation.

The company aims to capitalize on renewed enthusiasm for digital assets driven by pro-crypto policy signals from the Trump administration and follows last week’s IPO of stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL), whose shares soared 168% on the first day of trading.

The FT did not distinguish between Bullish Exchange and its parent, Bullish Group, the Peter Thiel-backed company that is also the parent of CoinDesk.

The confidential filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission allows Bullish to prepare for a public listing while keeping financial details private for now. Jefferies will serve as lead underwriter, according to the Financial Times.

Bullish previously attempted to go public in a SPAC deal in 2021. The plan collapsed the following year amid market volatility. Bullish Exchange is a Gibraltar regulated trading platform.

This time, the IPO filing comes as bitcoin trades around $110,000 and crypto sentiment strengthens amid favorable regulatory tailwinds following the election of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The group is led by CEO Tom Farley, a former president of NYSE Group, and chaired by Brendan Blumer of Block.one. Thiel is a co-founder of PayPal (PYPL) and an early investor in Facebook, now Meta (META).

Jefferies declined to comment to the FT. Bullish did not respond to the FT and had not responded to a CoinDesk request for comment by publication time.