Bullish Readies to Take Crypto Platform Public

Digital asset platform Bullish said it is once again ready to go public after a previous failed attempt.

The company started the roadshow for its initial public offering (IPO), according to a Monday (Aug. 4) press release.

Bullish is targeting a valuation of up to $4.23 billion, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is offering 20.3 million ordinary shares and plans to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 3,045,000 additional ordinary shares, “at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.”

The IPO price is expected to be between $28 and $31 per ordinary share, subject to market conditions, per the press release. The company has applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “BLSH.”

Bullish plans to use the IPO proceeds “for general corporate and working capital purposes, including funding potential future acquisitions,” the release said.

The announcement followed a report from June that Bullish had confidentially filed paperwork for its IPO. The company had tried to go public in 2021 via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Far Peak. However, the two firms canceled the plan in late 2022, citing a series of regulatory hurdles.

“But that was under a different administration,” PYMNTS wrote in June. “With crypto-friendly President Donald Trump in office, investors have grown much more enthusiastic about cryptocurrency. The administration’s pro-crypto stance has helped bring the price of bitcoin to record levels and inspired other digital asset firms to seek public listings.”

Those firms include Circle, which raised $1.1 billion when it went public in June, more than doubling its expectations.

Meanwhile, stablecoins could provide a cure for several cross-border payments pain points.

“The inefficiencies in this system include multi-day settlement times, high fees, limited transparency and heavy reliance on intermediaries,” PYMNTS reported Monday, adding that stablecoins, on the other hand, offer “instantly settled transactions, lower costs, programmable transfers and global accessibility.”

Executive commentary from second-quarter earnings calls showed that “stablecoins are being embedded into the existing financial system not as substitutes for fiat money, but as digital settlement layers that can operate across borders more efficiently than traditional networks,” the report said.