(Bloomberg) -- Bullish Global, a cryptoasset exchange operator whose backers include billionaire Peter Thiel, is considering an initial public offering as soon as this year, according to people familiar with the matter.
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The company is working with Jefferies Financial Group Inc. on the potential listing, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is confidential.
An IPO would see Bullish joining a growing number of companies in the sector moving ahead with plans to go public, amid expectations that President Donald Trump will pursue a pro-crypto agenda.
Led by Chief Executive Officer Tom Farley, Bullish has more than 275 employees and has offices in the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands, its website shows. It bought media outlet CoinDesk from Digital Currency Group in 2023 for an undisclosed amount.
Bullish is a subsidiary of Block.one, a blockchain software company whose backers include Thiel, Alan Howard, Louis Bacon and Richard Li, according to an earlier statement. Block.one, whose co-founder and CEO Brendan Blumer also serves as Bullish’s chairman, launched the company in 2021 and capitalized Bullish with about $10 billion in digital assets and cash.
In 2018, Block.one raised $4 billion by selling tokens in what’s known in the crypto world as an initial coin offering. The digital asset company failed to register the ICO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, resulting in a $24 million fine the following year. The token sale retains the record for the largest-ever such raise.
Bullish announced in 2021 that it planned to go public through a special purpose acquisition vehicle, but it put that plan on hold.
Deliberations are ongoing, details of the offering could change and more banks could be added to the lineup, the people said.
Representatives for Bullish and Block.one didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Jefferies declined to comment.
--With assistance from Katherine Doherty, Matthew Monks, Lizette Chapman and Olga Kharif.
(Updates with background in sixth paragraph.)
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