Bullish Apply for IPO: An article explains the capital restart path of this "hidden exchange"

Author: Louis , ChainCatcher

Editor : ChainCatcher

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

As a platform incubated by EOS parent company Block.one, Bullish has a unique capital background and is also regarded as an important experiment in the early capital transformation of Web3. The IPO application news came as Bitcoin price exceeded $110,000, and Circle was listed for less than a week. With the high industry atmosphere and the superposition of multiple factors, this long-low-key exchange has once again stood in the spotlight.

This article will lead readers to sort out the development context of this platform from the perspectives of funding sources, motivation for creation and development paths, and explore the deep motivation behind Bullish's relisting in the current industry environment.

From **IC0 to restarting the listing, review the road of Bullish

coming**

According to RootData data, Bullish is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange initiated by Block.one, a software development company behind the EOS project , in 2021. Within a short period of time, it received more than $10 billion in cash and digital assets, including 164,000 Bitcoins, $100 million in cash and 20 million EOS tokens from Block.one.

Its funds come from the historic IC0 conducted by the EOS project in 2018 , with a cumulative fundraising of more than US$4 billion. However, due to the chaos in governance and slow progress, the EOS Foundation has been questioned for a long time and was eventually punished by the SEC. Bullish 's creation is seen as an important attempt by Block.one to transform into a " compliant exchange " direction and is also the direction of the company's efforts to rebuild market trust in a negative reputation.

In July 2021 , Bullish announced that it plans to go public through a merger with SPAC company Far Peak Acquisition Corp. The transaction has attracted market attention due to its valuation of up to $9 billion. It also plans to raise about $900 million through PIPE financing , and receive support from well-known institutions such as BlackRock and Galaxy Digital .

However, as the SPAC boom fades, tightening of regulation in the crypto industry and rising macroeconomic pressures, transaction progress has been hindered. On December 22, 2022 , the two parties announced that they "mutually agreed to terminate the merger agreement", and Far Peak then entered the liquidation process. This setback also marks another capital attempt after Block.one's post-IC0s in 2018 has been blocked. For Bullish , not only did it fail to have high valuation financing, but it also exposed its structural problems between user base and compliance adaptation, and gradually faded out of the public's vision.

After nearly **three years of silence, why did Bullish restart its

IPO ?**

1. Improvement of policy environment:

Since the Trump administration took office, the regulatory environment in the US crypto market has shifted significantly to loosening. In January 2025 , the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) established the Crypto Task Force , marking a positive change in regulatory attitudes. Meanwhile, the SEC suspended or revoked several enforcement actions against crypto companies. As the stability coin bill and related legislation related to strategic reserves is gradually advancing, platforms such as Bullish with clear compliance paths have also gained more room for development and confidence in expansion, bringing a "sunshing rain" to the crypto market.

2. The market is hot and has attracted attention from mainstream funds:

According to Renaissance Capital data, a total of 53 companies completed IPOs in the first quarter of 2025 , with a total fundraising of approximately US$8.5 billion, a significant increase from the same period last year. As of May 21, 2025 , the single-day net inflow of Bitcoin ETFs reached US$607 million, showing strong market interest in this category. Traditional financial institutions such as JPMorgan , Fidelity , and Citi have made arrangements with multiple industries, and Goldman Sachs also increased its Bitcoin ETF reserves to more than US$1.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, which has once again made crypto assets the focus of capital. Against this background, Bullish chose to "low-down test the water", which hit the pace of market recovery and naturally gained a high-quality soil composed of liquidity and attention.

3. Interbank demonstration effect:

On June 5, 2025 , stablecoin issuer Circle successfully landed on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock price rose 168% on the first day , and its market value exceeded US$18.3 billion, verifying that crypto companies have the feasibility of listing in the current environment and arousing widespread attention from the market. Following closely behind, crypto exchange Gemini submitted an IPO application on June 6 , providing a realistic reference for similar platforms. For Bullish , not only are there precedents to follow, but also lead the way with peers.

Read more IPO- related content: American crypto companies enter the era of rush: Mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and tokenization booms and Amber logs on to Nasdaq, more than 10 companies are queuing up for listing, and the first year of crypto “IPO” begins

4. Strong capital foundation:

In addition to the strong capital strength of its parent company Block.one, as early as 2021 , Bullish obtained support from several well-known investment institutions including BlackRock , Cryptology Asset Group and Galaxy Digital through private equity financing ( PIPE), providing solid capital guarantee for its subsequent restart of IPOs. At the compliance level, Bullish has obtained operating licenses in Gibraltar and Hong Kong, and has implemented customer asset isolation mechanisms and regular audits conducted by Deloitte, building a relatively stable compliance foundation under the environment of stricter global regulation.

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

Against the backdrop of "the right time, place, and people", Bullish chose to set out again: the market rebounds, supervision is loose, there are demonstrations for the future, and its own deep foundation support. The restart of the IPO this time is not just a capital action, but more like a bold attempt to expand the encrypted territory after three years of silence.

Can Bullish stand the test of the market and time?

Although Bullish has a good starting advantage in capital structure and compliance framework, its actual performance in the market in the past few years has never met investor expectations. Compared with crypto giants such as Coinbase and Binance, Bullish has limited brand awareness. In the " mainstream crypto exchange rankings " such as Coin telegraph , Bullish has never appeared in various " most trusted " or " traffic leading " lists, reflecting 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, automatic market making mechanism (AMM), margin and contract matching, and no innovative modules such as NFT and token pledge are closer to the retail market. Derivative services are only available for qualified professional investors in specific regions. At the same time, Bullish has not yet been able to establish a substantial linkage with popular narratives in the on-chain ecosystem, which undoubtedly sets up a "wall" for its own growth.

According to the official website data of CoinGecko and Bullish, as of the end of 2024 , the average daily trading volume of the platform was about US$1.6 billion, while the average daily trading volume of Binance and Coinbase was about US$20 billion and US$2.2 billion respectively during the same period, with a significant gap.

After listing, Bullish will also face the dual pressure of increasing financial transparency and intensifying market doubts. If you cannot tell a good growth story and verify the profit path, this "solid capital" platform may find it difficult to maintain valuation expectations. In the eyes of institutional investors who are still cautious in crypto assets, an IPO is just an entry permit, not a successful guarantee.

Conclusion

Bullish 's IPO is not only a capital event, but also an industry signal - the once questioned IC0 project is trying to return to the mainstream market with a compliance attitude. At the intersection of stricter regulation and the gradual recovery of the market, the path Bullish chose is experimental and symbolic. Looking at the entire industry, from Circle to Gemini , a wave of crypto companies are gradually knocking on the door to the capital market, forming a new round of listing wave. But to truly gain market recognition, Bullish must demonstrate growth capabilities and user attractiveness in actual operations. For this former " fund container " , listing is just a new beginning.