This week’s Bullish IPO, an institutional-grade crypto exchange backed by Peter Thiel and led by former NYSE president Tom Farley, quickly became one of the most-watched crypto IPOs of 2025.
The offering saw Bullish shares more than double their initial price. They peaked at $118 before settling at $92.60, and reaching a valuation just shy of $13.2 billion.
Bullish IPO Among Frothy IPO Debuts
This performance (some might call it ‘bullish’) is the latest in a string of frothy IPO debuts from crypto and tech companies.
They include the likes of Circle and Figma, which saw triple-digit percentage rallies on their first trading days.
The crypto industry is still recovering from Circle’s explosive IPO, which debuted with similar enthusiasm after ‘years of prohibition’.
Its shares shot up as much as 168% on day one, with retaining gains above 120% since launch.
Software design firm, Figma, also saw its shares rocket by 250% during its recent offering. It was followed by a modest post-listing decline, highlighting renewed investor demand after a prolonged drought in public offerings.
The renewed enthusiasm for tech and crypto IPOs is further fueled by favorable regulatory tailwinds.
An increasingly crypto-friendly market environment, with Wall Street’s biggest banks handling the deals also helps.
As the IPO wave continues after the Bullish IPO, the roster of confirmed and rumored upcoming entrants continues to grow, led by Kraken, which has publicly announced its preparations for an IPO, and Gemini, which has also openly discussed its intentions to go public.
Other companies, including Grayscale and BitGo, are frequently rumored as potential listings, but have not provided clear public confirmation of imminent IPO plans as of yet.
Warning Signs: Is Crypto Market Top Incoming?
Despite the giddy exuberance, caution may be warranted. Extreme volatility and multi-hundred-percent surges on debut have prompted several onlookers to question whether the crypto market is showing classic signs of a top.
The Breakdown podcast’s Nathaniel Whittemore (NLW) aptly summed up the mood:
“The speed and magnitude of Bullish’s IPO pop is exactly the sort of froth that has historically preceded a cooling off. Any time you see 200% surges followed by fast reversals, you need to ask if the cycle is overheating or just getting started.”
Further warning signs of a possible market top are emerging. Treasury companies holding large Bitcoin and Ethereum reserves, such as MicroStrategy and Bitmine, have been particularly vulnerable to recent market swings.
As crypto market retreated sharply this August, these companies’ stocks experienced significant sell-offs.
MicroStrategy is down 3% on Friday, 20% since its July high, and 33% off its November 2024 peak.
Ethereum-heavy treasury stocks, like Bitmine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink Gaming, saw losses of 7% and 14%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin has pulled back from its record high reached just days prior, dropping below $117,000, with Ether holding just above $4,400.
While the Bullish IPO could be seen as a sign of crypto market maturation and rising institutional acceptance, it may also be a barometer of speculative fervor.
The rush of offerings and massive first-day pops echo patterns seen in previous bubble markets, chasing peak valuations in a climate that could just as readily signal overheating as it does optimism.
