After Circle, which other crypto companies are preparing for IPO? Why are they rushing to go public?

Deng Tong, Jinse Finance

Circle went public on the New York Stock Exchange on June 5. The stock code CRCL soared more than 160% on the first day, with a market value of $21.5 billion. This shows the market's strong confidence in Circle, especially the market position of its USDC stablecoin. Since then, Circle's stock price has been rising all the way and has now risen to more than $240.

Circle's listing and the positive trend of its stock after listing have undoubtedly strengthened the confidence of the crypto market and set off a wave of IPOs in the crypto field.

Industry observers note that the success of a massive IPO like Circle could spur other companies to quickly follow in the footsteps of stablecoins. "Now that Circle has revealed Wall Street's interest, I suspect we'll see several cryptocurrency companies accelerate their IPO plans," noted GSR's Carlos Guzman. Empire co-host and Blockworks co-founder Jason Yanowitz said he has spoken with several cryptocurrency companies that are moving up their IPO timelines due to the existence of stablecoin issuers.  

This article sorts out which cryptocurrency companies are actively preparing for IPOs and analyzes why cryptocurrency companies are flocking to IPOs?

1. What are the crypto companies preparing for IPOs?

1. FalconX

FalconX is a digital asset trading platform co-founded by Prabhakar Reddy and Raghu Yarlagadda in 2018. It is headquartered in the United States and mainly serves institutional clients. The platform provides real-time cryptocurrency price information, on-chain analysis tools and compliance transaction filtering services, and continues to expand its business through strategic acquisitions. As of 2024, FalconX ranks 83rd on the Hurun Global Unicorn List with a valuation of RMB 57 billion. The launch of the foreign exchange trading desk and bankruptcy-proof settlement solution "Prime Connect" in 2024 marks its innovative breakthrough in risk management and cross-asset services.

FalconX was valued at $8 billion in its last round of financing in 2022, and the company is considering listing on the New York Stock Exchange as early as this year. The large brokerage firm focusing on cryptocurrencies has held preliminary discussions with bankers and advisers on the IPO process, but has not yet determined the underwriting bank.

2. Gemini

Gemini was founded in 2015 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the billionaire brothers known for their early involvement in Facebook. According to Kaiko, a cryptocurrency data provider, the cryptocurrency exchange is one of the largest exchanges in the United States by trading volume.  

On June 6, 2025, Gemini announced that it would conduct an IPO. Although the S-1 document has not yet been made public, Gemini said that it expects its IPO to proceed after completing the review process of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It has not yet been determined how many Class A shares will be issued, and the price range of the issuance.  

3. Bullish 

The Bullish exchange was officially launched in July 2021 and was founded by blockchain software company Block.one. The initial start-up capital was strong, including $100 million in cash, 164,000 bitcoins and 20 million EOS invested by Block.one, and external investors also added $300 million. Its predecessor was closely related to the EOS project. After the popularity of EOS faded, Block.one transformed and created the Bullish exchange, which focuses on compliance. In 2021, Bullish reached a merger agreement with the listed company Far Peak and planned to go public, but the agreement was terminated in 2022. However, Bullish obtained the Type 1 license and Type 7 license issued by the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission in early 2025, as well as the license required for crypto asset trading and custody issued by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority.

On June 11, 2025, according to the Financial Times, the crypto trading platform Bullish has secretly submitted an initial public offering (IPO) application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Confidential documents allow the company to advance its listing plan before publicly disclosing its financial status close to listing.

4.BitGo

BitGo is the first digital asset company to focus on serving institutional clients since 2013. BitGo provides custody, liquidity and security solutions for institutional investors. BitGo is active in the field of centralized and decentralized finance, providing market-leading trading, lending and borrowing services through its prime brokerage services, and serving as the custodian of the world's leading Bitcoin stablecoin WBTC.

Crypto custody giant BitGo plans to IPO in the second half of 2025 with a valuation of $1.75 billion. The company provides custody, lending and trading services to more than 1,500 institutions worldwide, processing about 8% of global Bitcoin transactions (by value). BitGo's listing plan is supported by institutions such as Goldman Sachs and DRW Holdings, and its compliance path (holding custody licenses in multiple countries) and business stability (asset custody volume increased by 20% in 2023) have become key competitive advantages.

5. Kraken

Kraken was founded in 2011. In September 2020, Wyoming granted Kraken a license to create a crypto bank in the state, making Kraken the first cryptocurrency exchange in the United States to create a bank.

Payward Inc., the parent company of Kraken, a large U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, is streamlining operations in preparation for a possible IPO in 2026. Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi pointed out: "I think our idea is that if the listing is beneficial to serving customers and can build customer trust in cryptocurrencies, we will consider listing. So we will always be prepared, but the listing date may not be certain."

6. Bithumb

Founded in 2013, Bithumb is a major cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea and was once the largest trading platform in South Korea. It is operated by BTC Korea.com Co. Ltd. and is headquartered in South Korea. Bithumb is known for its user-friendly interface and high liquidity, and provides trading services for multiple cryptocurrencies.After suffering a $30 million hack in 2018, the exchange's market share has rebounded from single digits to 25% in 2023.

Bithumb, South Korea's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, is preparing for an IPO by the end of 2025. Bithumb plans to reorganize into two entities: Bithumb Korea (the exchange division) and Bithumb A (managing other businesses) on July 31, 2025. The exchange will first be listed on Kosdaq in South Korea, and may later be listed on Nasdaq to attract global investors. Samsung Securities will reportedly underwrite the offering.

7. Bitkub

Founded in February 2018, Bitkub is a Thailand-based cryptocurrency exchange operated by Bitkub Online Co., Ltd., which is affiliated with Bitkub Capital Group Holdings. BitDegree says its mission is to introduce blockchain and cryptocurrency services to Thai users. Bitkub is one of the first exchanges in Thailand to obtain a digital asset license and claims to be the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Thailand. 

According to Bloomberg, Bitkub CEO Jirayut Srupsrisopa confirmed last year that the company had hired financial advisors to prepare for an IPO. Bitkub plans to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand this year to raise funds and enhance its market influence.

8.Figure

In January 2018, Figure Technologies, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Figure) was founded in San Francisco, USA. It is a financial technology company that uses blockchain technology to provide services such as loans, equity management, banking and payments. Its mission is to "change financial services through blockchain and bring speed, efficiency and savings to consumers and institutions." After its establishment, the company quickly gained favor from the capital market and became a unicorn company with a valuation of more than $1 billion in just over a year.

Figure submitted an S-1 filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in March 2024, but has not yet set an IPO date. Figure has made some progress since submitting its S-1 listing filing. For example, in September 2024, Figure hired Ronald Chillemi as chief legal officer and company secretary. In December 2024, Figure announced the hiring of chief financial officer Macrina Kgil, citing her extensive IPO experience.

Second, why are crypto companies starting to flock to IPOs?

1. The regulatory environment is improving

Since Trump was re-elected as the US president, the US government's attitude towards the crypto industry has warmed up. For example, the GENIUS Act was passed by the Senate, Trump called for the reserve of BTC, the US SEC shifted from "enforcement is regulation" to "rule-guided" regulatory attitude, and the New Hampshire governor passed House Bill 302, which allows the state's financial department to use funds to invest in cryptocurrencies with a market value of more than $500 billion. A series of regulatory events are paving the way for crypto companies to go public.

For details, please refer to 《GENIUS Act Passed by the US Senate, What Impact Will It Have on the Crypto Industry》

《What are the highlights of the New Hampshire Bitcoin Reserve Act? Will it trigger other states to follow suit?》

2. Institutional entry, traditional investors pay attention to cryptocurrencies

The crypto market is becoming more and more mature, and traditional investors are entering the market. For example, BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) will exceed $71 billion in management scale in 2025, with a maximum daily net inflow of $337 million, and will tokenize U.S. Treasury money market funds and provide them to qualified investors through the Securitize platform. Circle's IPO was jointly underwritten by JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs, and subscribed by institutions such as ARK Invest; Goldman Sachs and Citigroup led Bullish's IPO. Traditional institutions have accelerated their entry through compliant channels such as ETFs, which has improved the liquidity and recognition of crypto assets. Traditional investors' attitude towards cryptocurrencies has shifted from waiting and watching to deep participation. In this environment, crypto companies will inevitably move closer to the development model of traditional enterprises and seek greater development space through IPOs.

For details, please see 《Which giants are crazy hoarding coins in the new high month of BTC? How do institutions view the current crypto market? 》

3. ICO is almost extinct, giving rise to the rise of new financing channels

ICO, that is, cryptocurrency projects raise funds by issuing tokens. ICO reached its peak around 2017, and also gave rise to many market chaos. On the one hand, many cryptocurrency projects are over-hyped and have no actual application; on the other hand, the lack of regulatory policies has caused heavy losses to investors. According to statistics, in 2018, more than 80% of ICO projects were scams, and the survival rate was only 10%. 

In September 2017, China banned ICOs and stopped related token issuance activities and platforms. After that, ICOs were regulated more strictly worldwide, and the ICO wave has basically ended since then. Subsequently, the cryptocurrency industry has produced two main financing methods: initial exchange offerings (IEOs) and initial decentralized exchange offerings (IDOs). In addition, there are other supplementary financing methods, such as staking, NFT, etc.

At the end of 2020, the cryptocurrency industry's initial public offering (IPO) wave began and reached its peak in 2021. Coinbase is the first cryptocurrency exchange to submit an application for listing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is considered a landmark event in the cryptocurrency industry's listing boom. Since then, cryptocurrency companies have opened up new financing channels.

4.BTC prices hit new highs, market confidence strengthened

BTC prices broke $110,000 again on June 10. Some analysts believe that as the US government is about to raise the $4 trillion debt ceiling, the price of Bitcoin may rise to $150,000. ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood said that the price of BTC will increase 15 times in the next five years.

According to Bitwise data, institutional buyers dominated Bitcoin demand in the first half of 2025, increasing their holdings by 417,000 BTC.

At a time when confidence in the crypto market is increasing, IPOs can provide financial support for crypto companies and enable them to obtain better development opportunities. In addition, IPOs need to prove to the market the compliance and operational stability of the company through strict financial audits and information disclosure, which can also enhance the public trust of crypto companies.

For details, please see "What Happened: BTC Breaks $110,000 Again, ETH Reaches $2,700"