At a Glance
Circle (CRCL)’s $1.1B IPO
Bullish (BLSH)’s explosive debut
Gemini’s Nasdaq filing
The expanding crypto IPO pipeline
Macro Drivers (regulation, institutional shifts, new funding paths)
Summer 2025 is shaping up to be “crypto summer” for the public markets. After years of stalled listings driven by controversy and uncertainty, crypto firms are re-entering Wall Street and regaining investor attention.
Circle (CRCL)’s $1.1B IPO in June¹, Bullish (BLSH)’s debut in August², and Gemini’s recent Nasdaq filing highlight a clear shift³: regulation is catching up, investor appetite has returned, and crypto firms are competing for mainstream capital alongside traditional tech — signaling the start of a new golden age.
Snapshot: Key IPOs of 2025 + Pipeline
IPOs
Circle (CRCL) — June 5, 2025
Category: Stablecoins
Thesis: Positioned as the regulated leader in stablecoins, Circle’s IPO strengthens USDC’s role as the bridge between crypto and tradfi.
Bullish (BLSH) — August 13, 2025
Category: Exchanges
Thesis: A hybrid CEX/DeFi exchange with deep liquidity, Bullish’s IPO pop signals investor appetite for new trading infrastructure.
IPO Filings
Gemini (GEMI) — August 18, 2025
Category: Exchanges
Thesis: U.S.-based crypto exchange; despite widening losses, Gemini is betting a compliance-first strategy can win market share as regulation tightens.
IPO Pipeline — Q4 2025+
Galaxy Digital, Grayscale, Kraken, BitGo, and OKX are lined up for IPOs, with more firms likely to join the pipeline before year-end — marking a new wave of listings across asset management, custody, and global exchanges.
Key Drivers
Regulation as an edge — The GENIUS Act sets clear federal rules, making compliance-first players like Circle more attractive.⁴
Investor demand — Bullish’s +218% IPO pop shows Wall Street appetite for new crypto infrastructure.²
New funding paths — IPOs give exchanges and asset managers alternatives to token launches.
Institutional shift — Listings frame crypto not just as tokens, but as sustainable businesses.
“This confluence of regulatory clarity and competitive pressure … has created a sense of urgency across traditional finance (TradFi) to embrace the technologies as core infrastructure.”
The re-entry of crypto firms into public markets signals a structural shift in how the industry seeks legitimacy and scale. Equity listings are no longer outliers — they’re becoming part of crypto’s funding and credibility playbook. This growing trend isn’t about TradFi and DeFi blurring into one, but about a partnership where public markets provide legitimacy while token markets drive innovation.
This is only the beginning. The next wave of crypto IPOs will tell us how far mainstream adoption can really go.
¹ Reuters, “Stablecoin issuer Circle raises $1.05 billion in upsized U.S. IPO,” June 4, 2025.
² Cointelegraph, “Bullish stock surges 218% in NYSE debut as crypto enters Wall Street limelight,” August 12, 2025.
³ Cointelegraph, “Winklevoss-led Gemini files for Nasdaq listing after Bullish debut,” August 2025.
⁴ CoinDesk, “U.S. House Passes GENIUS Act to Clarify Crypto Rules,” July 2025.