Shares of Bullish (BLSH 83.78%) are flying on Wednesday, up 152.1% as of 1:48 p.m. ET. The jump comes as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were relatively flat.
The Peter Thiel-backed crypto exchange had its initial public offering (IPO) today, more than doubling in price in its first few hours of trading. Bullish is the latest IPO to see incredible performance on day one.
Strong demand is driving the immediate surge
Bullish priced its 30 million shares at $37, which was already above the expected range of $32 to $33, raising $1.1B. With 150.7 million shares outstanding, Bullish now has a market capitalization of approximately $13.7 billion.
Bullish has a list of high-profile backers, including Peter Thiel and Galaxy Digital, while BlackRock and Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management expressed interest in purchasing a combined $200 million worth of shares at the offering. CEO Tom Farley was also the former president of the New York Stock Exchange, signaling a deep connection to Wall Street for the new crypto exchange.
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Bullish wants to be the institutional go-to
Much of the recent success of crypto has been driven largely by increasing adoption among institutional investors. Unlike its retail-focused peers, Bullish aims to provide mainly Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for institutional clients, limiting its exposure to riskier altcoins. This could help it stand out in a crowded market.
I think that will help Bullish succeed long term and provide more stability compared to other exchanges. However, the stock does carry a hefty valuation given it expects roughly $100 million in profit in its second quarter. The company was in the red for Q1. I think Bullish can be a good pick for investors who are comfortable with risk.
