Bullish Exchange Seeks NYSE Debut After $80M Profit in Crypto Rebound

Bullish, the digital asset exchange headquartered in the Cayman Islands, has officially filed to go public in the United States. The company hopes to secure a spot on the New York Stock Exchange, where it plans to trade under the ticker symbol BLSH. After reporting a net income of $80 million in 2024, Bullish is aiming to ride the wave of renewed investor interest in crypto.

The filing was made public on Friday through an F-1 form submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Specifics around share count and pricing are still under wraps.

Crypto Optimism Fuels IPO Aspirations

There’s a certain boldness to Bullish’s timing. After a long crypto winter, markets are thawing and retail investors are sniffing around again. Bitcoin has stabilised above $60,000 for months. Ethereum’s staking growth continues. And now? One of the industry’s heavyweight exchanges wants Wall Street to get involved.

Bullish has been sitting on solid footing financially. Their $80 million net income in 2024 didn’t just happen — it was driven by market recovery, trading volume spikes, and likely some strategic cost controls.

It’s a rare sight, frankly. Many exchanges floundered post-FTX, but Bullish seems to have done the opposite. They’re expanding, growing, and now reaching for the ultimate stamp of legitimacy — a U.S. public listing.

A Closer Look at Bullish’s Structure

This isn’t your average decentralised project with a confusing org chart. Bullish is more buttoned-up. It operates through licensed subsidiaries in six jurisdictions.

Each region serves a clear purpose, with Hong Kong at the heart of its operations — handling trading services, tech infrastructure, and custody. That centralisation gives Bullish an edge in control and compliance, especially in the increasingly scrutinised crypto space.

One thing that stands out in the filing is its structure:

• Cayman Islands: Corporate HQ

• Hong Kong: Core operations — tech, custody, and trading

• United States, UK, Gibraltar, Bermuda, Singapore: Regional regulatory footholds

Notably, there’s a strong focus on compliance and licensing — likely designed to reassure skittish U.S. regulators and institutional investors.

The Numbers Behind the Ambition

For all the buzz, what do the books say? In a rare level of transparency for the crypto sector, Bullish disclosed actual figures. That $80 million profit in 2024? It didn’t come from thin air.

The financials hint at a disciplined cost model and increasing user growth. While details of revenues and user counts weren’t released in full, the company did reveal some numbers in its F-1 filing.

Here’s what we know:

That kind of net income — in an industry that saw billions wiped out over the past two years — will raise eyebrows, in a good way. Investors are already whispering about whether Bullish could become the “next Coinbase,” albeit more globally distributed and operationally lean.

What’s Missing from the Filing?

There are gaps, of course. The F-1 didn’t mention how many shares will be sold or the expected valuation. That’s normal at this stage, but it leaves the market guessing.

Also, no updates yet on which banks are underwriting the IPO or when it will hit the NYSE floor. That could take months, maybe longer, depending on regulatory feedback and market conditions.

And here’s the catch: regulatory scrutiny. The SEC has been tightening the screws on crypto. Gary Gensler’s agency is no friend to digital assets, and IPOs in this space are bound to raise eyebrows.

Still, Bullish appears to be bracing for that. By going through the formal channels — submitting the F-1, disclosing audited financials — they’re clearly trying to play it straight.

Will Wall Street Buy Into Bullish?

That’s the billion-dollar question, literally. Institutional investors remain cautious, though some hedge funds have dipped back into Bitcoin futures and ETFs. A profitable exchange with multi-jurisdictional compliance might be just the kind of crypto exposure traditional investors are willing to stomach.

Still, timing is everything. If markets slide again or the SEC delays approvals, momentum could fizzle.

But here’s what makes Bullish interesting: they’re not chasing hype. They’ve stayed relatively quiet compared to rivals. No flashy Twitter threads. No celebrity endorsements. Just a quiet march toward profitability, and now, potentially, a place on Wall Street.