Bullish, a crypto exchange, completed a US$1.2 billion IPO fully settled in stablecoins, the first such deal for a US public offering.

The exchange received both USD- and EUR-denominated stablecoins, mainly Circle’s USDC and EURC, with most tokens minted on Solana.

Jefferies, serving as the billing and delivery agent, coordinated the minting, conversion, and delivery of the stablecoins.

Bullish, which operates globally and owns CoinDesk, raised US$1.1 billion through an offering of 30 million shares at US$37 each before its NYSE listing.

The company’s shares rose over 150% on their debut.

Stablecoins from issuers including Paxos, PayPal, Ripple, Agora, and World Liberty Financial were also used, with Coinbase providing custody.

Other crypto firms such as Gemini and Kraken are reportedly weighing IPOs following Bullish’s listing.

🔗 Source: The Block

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Stablecoin infrastructure reaches institutional settlement milestone

Bullish’s $1.15 billion IPO settlement represents the first time stablecoins have been used for a major U.S. public offering, marking a significant maturation in crypto financial infrastructure1.

The technical execution involved coordinating stablecoin minting across multiple networks, with the majority of tokens created on Solana. It required traditional investment bank Jefferies to manage the complex conversion and delivery process1.

This demonstrates that stablecoins have evolved beyond simple trading tools to handle large-scale institutional settlements that previously required traditional banking rails.

The transaction used multiple stablecoin providers including Circle’s USDC and EURC, Paxos’ USDG, PayPal’s PYUSD, and others, showing how diversified the stablecoin ecosystem has become for institutional use1.

Notably, the IPO proceeds are being custodied by rival exchange Coinbase rather than Bullish itself, indicating that even competitors recognize the need for established custody infrastructure in high-stakes transactions1.

2️⃣ Market enthusiasm outpaces fundamental business performance in crypto IPOs