Bullish Applies for IPO: An article on the path to a capital restart for this "hidden exchange".

Author: Louis , ChainCatcher

Editor: Crypto Luo Xiaohei, ChainCatcher

On June 11, 2024, crypto trading platform Bullish has secretly filed an initial public offering (IPO) application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to the Financial Times. Three years ago, Bullish planned to merge with Far Peak through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), but it was eventually stranded due to market changes. And now it has changed to the traditional path to knock on the door of the capital market again.

As a platform incubated by EOS's parent company Block.one, Bullish has a unique capital background and is also seen as an important experiment in the early stage of Web3 capital transformation. The news of the IPO comes as the price of Bitcoin topped $110,000 and Circle was listed less than a week ago. Under the superposition of multiple factors due to the rising industry atmosphere, this long-low-key exchange has once again stood in the spotlight.

This article will lead readers to sort out the development of this platform from the perspectives of funding sources, motivation and development path, and explore the underlying motivations behind Bullish's re-listing in the current industry environment.

From IC0 to the restart of the listing, a review of Bullish came

According to RootData data, Bullish is powered by EOS The software development company behind the project Block.one, a centralised cryptocurrency exchange launched in 2021. In a short period of time, it was backed by over $10 billion in cash and digital assets, including 164,000 BTC, $100 million in cash, and 20 million EOS tokens in Block.one's first round of funding.

It was funded by the historic IC0 of the 2018 EOS project, which raised over $4 billion. However, due to the chaos and slow progress of governance, the EOS Foundation has long been questioned for "failing to deliver on its promises" and was eventually penalised by the SEC. The creation of Bullish is seen as an important attempt by Block.one to transform into a "compliant exchange" and an attempt to rebuild trust in the market amid a negative reputation.

In July 2021, just two months after its founding, Bullish announced its intention to go public through a merger with SPAC firm Far Peak Acquisition Corp. The deal has attracted market attention due to its valuation of up to $9 billion, and plans to raise about $900 million through PIPE financing, which is backed by well-known institutions including BlackRock and Galaxy Digital.

However, as the SPAC craze ebbed, the crypto industry tightened regulations, and macroeconomic pressures rose, the move forward in deals was hampered. On December 22, 2022, the parties announced that they had "mutually agreed to terminate the merger agreement" and Far Peak subsequently entered into liquidation. This setback also marks another thwart of Block.one's capital attempts after IC0 in 2018. For Bullish, not only did the high-valuation financing fall through, but it also exposed the structural difficulties between its user base and compliance adaptation, and gradually faded out of public view.

After nearly 3 years of silence, why did Bullish restart its IPO?

1、Improved policy environment:

Since the Trump administration took office, the regulatory environment in the U.S. crypto market has significantly shifted to easing. In January 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) established the Crypto Task Force, marking a positive shift in regulatory attitudes. At the same time, the SEC has suspended or reversed a number of enforcement actions against crypto companies. With the gradual advancement of the stablecoin bill and the legislation related to strategic reserves, platforms with clear compliance paths like Bullish have also gained more room for development and confidence in expansion, bringing a "rain over the sky" to the crypto market.

2、The market is hot and has attracted the attention of mainstream funds:

According to data from Renaissance Capital, In the first quarter of 2025, a total of 53 companies completed IPOs, raising a total of about $8.5 billion, a significant increase from the same period last year. As of May 21, 2025, Bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of $607 million in a single day, demonstrating strong market interest in the product. Traditional financial institutions such as JPMorgan, Fidelity, and Citigroup have deployed in multiple industries, and Goldman Sachs has also increased its Bitcoin ETF reserves to more than $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, which has made crypto assets the focus of capital again. In this context, Bullish chose "low debugging water", stepped on the rhythm of market recovery, and naturally obtained high-quality soil composed of liquidity and attention.

3. Peer Demonstration Effect:

June 5, 2025, stablecoin issuer Circle's successful listing on the New York Stock Exchange saw its stock price soar 168% on the first day, with a market capitalisation of more than $18.3 billion, which verified the viability of crypto companies to go public in the current environment and stimulated widespread attention in the market. Immediately after, crypto exchange Gemini filed its IPO application on June 6, providing a real-world reference for similar platforms. For Bullish, there are not only precedents to follow, but also peers to lead the way.

For more IPO related content, read: US Crypto Businesses Enter the Age of Hurricane: M&A, IPOs, and Tokenization Boom with Amber Listed on NASDAQ, more than 10 companies queued up to list, the first year of crypto "IPO" opened

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In 2021, Bullish acquired BlackRock, Cryptology Asset Group and Galaxy Digital through a private equity financing (PIPE). and a number of well-known investment institutions, providing a solid capital guarantee for its subsequent resumption of IPO. In terms of compliance, Bullish has obtained operating licenses in Gibraltar and Hong Kong, and has implemented a client asset segregation mechanism and regular audits conducted by Deloitte, building a relatively solid compliance foundation in the global regulatory environment.

One of its main investors, billionaire Peter Thiel, has also publicly stated that he has always regarded Bullish as an important part of the cryptocurrency revolution.

In the context of "the right time, the right place and the right people", Bullish chose to start again: the market is picking up, the regulation is loose, there is a demonstrator of the road ahead, and it has its own deep foundation support. The resumption of the IPO is not only a capital move, but also a bold attempt to expand the crypto territory again after three years of silence.

Does Bullish stand the test of the market and time?

Despite its strong start in terms of capital structure and compliance framework, Bullish's actual performance in the market has consistently failed to meet investor expectations over the past few years. Compared to crypto giants such as Coinbase and Binance, Bullish has limited brand recognition, and in the "mainstream crypto exchange rankings" such as Coin telegraph, Bullish is superior Never appeared in all kinds The "Most Trusted" or "Traffic Leading" list reflects that it has not yet entered the core category of the industry's authoritative evaluation system.

Its official website product introduction only covers basic functions such as spot trading, automated market making mechanism (AMM), margin and contract matching, and does not see innovative modules such as NFT and token staking, which are closer to the retail market, and derivatives services are only available to qualified professional investors in specific regions. At the same time, Bullish has so far failed to establish a substantial linkage with the popular narratives in the on-chain ecosystem, which undoubtedly sets up a "separation wall" for its own growth.

According to the official websites of CoinGecko and Bullish, by the end of 2024, the average daily trading volume of the platform is about $1.6 billion, while the average daily trading volume of Binance and Coinbase is about the same period respectively The gap between $20 billion and $2.2 billion is obvious.

After the listing, Bullish will also face the dual pressure of increased financial transparency and increased market scepticism. Without the ability to tell a good growth story and verify the path to profitability, this "well-capitalised" platform may struggle to maintain valuation expectations. In the eyes of institutional investors, who are still cautious about crypto assets, IPOs are just a pass to the market, not a guarantee of success.

ConclusionBullish's IPO is not only a capital event, but also an industry signal that the once-questioned IC0 project is trying to return to the mainstream market with a compliant attitude. At the intersection of tighter regulation and a gradual market recovery, Bullish's chosen path is experimental and symbolic. Looking at the entire industry, from Circle to Gemini, a wave of crypto companies are knocking on the door of the capital market one after another, forming a new round of listings. But to be truly recognised by the market, Bullish must demonstrate growth and user attraction in its actual operations. For this former "money container", the listing is just a new beginning.