Peter Thiel-backed crypto exchange Bullish files for US IPO: FT

Bullish, the digital asset exchange backed by prominent investor Peter Thiel, has confidentially submitted paperwork to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a potential initial public offering (IPO), according to sources reported by the Financial Times.

Jefferies, a well-known American investment bank, has reportedly been selected as the lead underwriter for the offering. Bullish has yet to release a public statement confirming these plans.

This move positions Bullish alongside a number of crypto companies exploring opportunities to capitalize on renewed investor interest and a potentially more favorable regulatory environment.

The company previously explored going public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger in 2021. However, those earlier efforts were unsuccessful as market conditions deteriorated amid rising interest rates.

Related: Circle stock jumps 167% on NYSE debut

Crypto IPO Successes Inspire Bullish

Recent successes in the crypto IPO arena appear to have encouraged Bullish's current move. Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, successfully raised $1.1 billion in its public debut recently, exceeding initial expectations and experiencing a remarkable 167% surge on its first day of trading.

On June 6, Gemini, the exchange co-founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, also confidentially filed for a U.S. listing.

On May 14, the social trading platform eToro officially began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ETOR, following a confidential SEC filing and the engagement of Goldman Sachs to manage the process.

Bullish is currently led by CEO Tom Farley, formerly the president of the NYSE Group. Thiel, an early advocate for Bitcoin, previously contributed to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

Related: Circle raises IPO target to $896M amid strong investor interest

Crypto Listings Outpace IPOs

Despite the recent increase in IPO activity, data indicates that crypto listings continue to demonstrate stronger performance compared to those on traditional stock exchanges.

According to a CoinMarketCap report shared on April 3, the average return on investment (ROI) for tokens listed on major crypto exchanges over the preceding 180 days exceeded 80%. This performance surpasses that of major stock indexes like the Nasdaq and Dow Jones.

CEX listings, top indexes, average ROI. Source: CoinMarketCap

The report also revealed that 68% of crypto listings yielded positive ROI, exceeding the NYSE's 54% and Nasdaq's 51%.