Crypto IPO Season Started After Circle’s NYSE Success
Key takeaways:
Circle’s IPO was a success, with CRCL soaring almost 290% and sparking renewed investor interest.
New IPO filings from Gemini and Bullish signal growing momentum, and more crypto-native firms may prepare to enter public markets.
While not every listing will deliver explosive returns, crypto’s growing presence in equity markets marks a major milestone for the industry.
Since the beginning of 2025, IPOs from crypto companies have been piling up. In May, Israeli exchange eToro and Delaware-based financial services firm Galaxy Digital made their Nasdaq debut. Then came Circle: the USDC issuer’s wildly successful IPO on June 5 has firmly marked the start of a full-blown crypto IPO season. With CRCL now trading almost 290% above its IPO price, investors not only showed up—they rushed in.
The message is clear: public markets are hungry for crypto-native plays with real revenue, strong compliance, and scalable infrastructure. It’s a vote of confidence—and a green light for other crypto firms eyeing the public route.
Crypto’s IPO window is open. The appetite is there, and the opportunities abound.
New crypto IPO filings: Gemini and Bullish
It hasn’t even been a week since Circle’s NYSE debut, and already two more NYC-based crypto companies are stepping up to the IPO plate.
On June 6, Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, announced that it had confidentially filed a draft registration statement (Form S-1) with the SEC. The filing relates to a proposed IPO of its Class A common stock, though details like share count and pricing remain undisclosed.
On June 11, crypto exchange Bullish followed suit. According to the Financial Times, the Peter Thiel–backed exchange also submitted confidential IPO paperwork to the SEC. Bullish had previously attempted to go public via SPAC in 2021, a move that collapsed in 2022 amid broader market turbulence.
Now, the timing seems perfect: the US is advancing toward regulatory clarity on crypto assets, institutional capital has normalized crypto exposure, and global macroeconomic uncertainty is pushing investors toward diversification. The probability of more IPO announcements is high.
Who’s next in the crypto IPO line?
The strongest speculation surrounds Kraken, a major US exchange. According to Bloomberg reporting, Kraken is reportedly preparing to go public, possibly in early 2026. Its last priced funding round dates back to 2019, when it raised $13.5 million at a $4 billion valuation.
Another candidate is BitGo, a regulated US-based custodian. In February, reports surfaced that BitGo was targeting an IPO “as early as this year.” The company’s last valuation, dated August 2023, stood at $1.75 billion.
Beyond those, several other crypto companies could also be considered potential IPO candidates:
Consensys, a US-based developer of MetaMask and other Ethereum tooling. Valued at around $7 billion, the company is in a strong position to pursue an IPO.
Ledger, the French hardware wallet maker. With a valuation of $1.4 billion in 2023 and strong global brand recognition, it could go public on Euronext or a US exchange.
Fireblocks, the institutional custody infrastructure firm based in New York, was valued at $8 billion after the 2022 Series E funding round. Since then, the company has been scaling operations, marked by a series of C-suite hires in 2023 and 2024.
Chainalysis, another New York-based blockchain analytics firm known for serving law enforcement and financial institutions, was valued at $8.6 billion in 2022. The company has also seen important leadership changes since December 2024, notably hiring its first chief financial officer.
Related: US senators question Meta’s stablecoin plans amid GENIUS Act debate
Will the next round of crypto IPOs match Circle’s success?
Circle has set the bar high. CRCL’s post-IPO performance was explosive—up over 240% within days—and helped set the tone for the current crypto IPO wave. However, there’s a structural difference between Circle and other crypto firms that consider going public. Circle’s core product is essentially a dollar with more blockchain-related capacities. Its business model—earning interest on reserves backing USDC—is deeply familiar to traditional finance.
The same cannot be said for crypto exchanges, blockchain infrastructure firms, or data analytics platforms. These businesses depend more directly on the long-term development of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Web3 ecosystems. That’s a different bet, requiring investors to engage more deeply with crypto’s complexities. The eToro (ETOR) and Galaxy Digital (GLXY) listings in May were less successful than Circle’s, registering only a 43-46% gain on the first trading day.
Still, even if upcoming IPOs don’t match Circle’s returns, their symbolic value is enormous. Each listing marks a tightening link between the crypto and traditional finance worlds.
Crypto is becoming an integral part of public markets. Some traditionally non-crypto firms have reinvented themselves—like MicroStrategy (MSTR), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and Marathon (MARA)—while crypto-native companies are increasingly going public. With MSTR joining the Nasdaq 100 in December 2024 and Coinbase’s COIN entering the S&P 500 in May 2025, both of the world’s top equity indexes now reflect exposure to the crypto industry.
What was once dismissed as a volatile fringe is now producing companies that are IPO-ready—and in some cases, outperforming expectations.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
