Shares of crypto exchange Bullish (BLSH) soared to $102 in initial trades on Wednesday, their first day of action on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company priced its initial public offering (IPO) at $37 per share, above the expected $32 to $33 range. That price valued the Cayman Island-based crypto exchange at a total market value of $5.4 billion.
Bullish, which is the owner of CoinDesk, earlier this week expanded the amount of shares it sold in its IPO to 20.3 million as investor appetite turned out to be larger than anticipated. Both BlackRock and Ark Investment Management had expressed interest to buy up to $200 million worth of shares.
“The last leg of growth in crypto in the last 10 years was basically all retail and if you look now, the institutional wave has begun, it’s here, it’s a question of how big it will be,” Bullish CEO Tom Farley said in an interview with CNBC.
Unlike retail-focused exchanges such as Coinbase or Kraken, Bullish targets institutional investors seeking exposure to digital assets while relying on the oversight and safeguards of a centralized platform.
The exchange saw trading volume of over $1.25 trillion as of March 31, since its launch in 2021, according to a filing.
“Bullish’s $1.1 billion IPO raise reflects growing institutional confidence in the crypto exchange sector, driven by a favorable regulatory environment under the Trump administration and Bitcoin’s surge past $100,000,” said Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research.
“This success, alongside Circle’s strong IPO performance, signals that institutional investors are increasingly viewing centralized exchanges as viable long-term investments. However, sustained confidence will depend on regulatory clarity and market stability,” he said.
The company’s debut comes at a time of booming interest in crypto-related projects, specifically from Wall Street, as U.S. regulators are getting close to a regulatory framework for the space, allowing participants to engage in a safe way.