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The crypto exchange whose parent company is backed by Peter Thiel revived its public listing plans shelved in 2022.
Feb 5, 2025, 9:59 a.m. UTC
Crypto exchange Bullish Global is considering selling shares to the public for the first time at some point during 2025, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company, which owns CoinDesk, is working with Jefferies Financial Group on the potential listing, Bloomberg said.
Talks of an initial public offering (IPO) comes as the prices of bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies have shot up since Donald Trump won the U.S. election in November. The total crypto market has climbed to to $3.15 trillion from $2.2 trillion. On Tuesday, U.S. crypto czar David Sacks spoke about a golden age for digital assets.
Led by CEO Tom Farley, Bullish has more than 275 employees worldwide including Hong Kong, the U.S. and Europe. It is is a subsidiary of Block.one, a blockchain software company headed by Brendan Blumer whose backers include Peter Thiel, Alan Howard and Richard Li.
Blumer, who also serves as Bullish's chairman, launched the company in 2021. Bullish has around $10 billion in digital assets and cash, according to the report. It had planned to go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2021. The plan was canceled the following year.
Discussions around the IPO are ongoing, including additional banking partners, Bloomberg said.
Representatives from Bullish and Block.one didn't respond to Bloomberg, and Jefferies declined to comment. A CoinDesk email to Bullish seeking comment was not answered before publication.
James Van Straten
James Van Straten is a Senior Analyst at CoinDesk, specializing in Bitcoin and its interplay with the macroeconomic environment. Previously, James worked as a Research Analyst at Saidler & Co., a Swiss hedge fund, where he developed expertise in on-chain analytics. His work focuses on monitoring flows to analyze Bitcoin's role within the broader financial system. In addition to his professional endeavors, James serves as an advisor to Coinsilium, a UK publicly traded company, where he provides guidance on their Bitcoin treasury strategy. He also holds investments in Bitcoin, MicroStrategy (MSTR), and Semler Scientific (SMLR).
