Crypto exchange Bullish valued at nearly $13.2 billion in blowout NYSE debut

By Ateev Bhandari, Atharva Singh and Hannah Lang

(Reuters) -Cryptocurrency exchange operator Bullish was valued at about $13.16 billion after its shares more than doubled in their NYSE debut on Wednesday, underscoring investor confidence in the sector and lifting prospects for future U.S. listings by other digital asset firms.

The parent of crypto news website CoinDesk raised $1.11 billion in its IPO, valuing the company at $5.4 billion — another sign of mainstream adoption in a market that recently topped $4 trillion.

"Bullish came out with an attractive initial valuation, and investors responded by aggressively bidding it up during the pre-IPO process," said Jeff Zell, senior research analyst at IPO Boutique.

The stock opened at $90 and was trading over 150% its IPO price of $37 in afternoon trading. It went as high as $118, before paring gains slightly to trade at $92.60.

A string of regulatory wins under a pro-crypto White House, corporate treasury adoption and ETF inflows have prompted investors to embrace the once-scorned digital asset class, driving bellwether bitcoin to record highs.

Exchange operator Gemini and asset manager Grayscale are also among the crypto firms that have confidentially filed to go public.

"We've gone public today, and there's a slew of others that are going to follow us, and I think that is net beneficial, because it gives people more options in terms of how they access this asset class," Bullish President Chris Tyrer told Reuters in an interview.

Bullish is close to concluding a two-year process to obtain a virtual currency license known as a "BitLicense" in New York, which would allow the company to operate in the state, Tyrer said.

The BitLicense requires companies to comply with requirements related to know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and capital.

Peter Thiel-backed Bullish plans to convert a significant portion of the IPO proceeds to stablecoins — a slice of the crypto space that has boomed since U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Genius Act, creating a regulatory regime for the dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies.

INSTITUTIONAL FOCUS

Bullish's debut marks a rare U.S. listing by a crypto exchange, joining larger retail-focused rival Coinbase, which became the first crypto player to be included in the benchmark S&P 500 index in May.

Founded in 2020, Bullish targets institutional clients, whose crypto holdings are expected to rise as a new White House order aims to allow alternative investments in 401(k) retirement plans.

"A pure institutional strategy positions Bullish for more stable, recurring revenue than exchanges reliant on retail volumes, which tend to be cyclical and sentiment-driven," said Michael Hall, co-chief investment officer and founding partner at Nickel Digital Asset Management.

Bullish CEO Tom Farley was previously the president of the NYSE.

"For a sector still overcoming reputational headwinds, that kind of leadership experience can be a differentiator in securing institutional mandates," Hall said.

(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari and Atharva Singh in Bengaluru and Hannah Lang in New York; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Devika Syamnath, Tasim Zahid and Alan Barona)