The crypto industry's public-market ambitions have collided with a severe bear cycle. After 11 firms raised a combined $14.6 billion in IPO proceeds during 2025, the class of 2026 faces a starkly different environment: Bitcoin down 52% from its October 2025 high of $126,220, spot ETF outflows exc...
"We don't believe in timing windows. We are listing because the business is ready." — Jean-Marie Mognetti, CEO, CoinShares, on the firm's Nasdaq debut amid a 52% Bitcoin drawdown (April 1, 2026)
The crypto industry's public-market ambitions have collided with a severe bear cycle. After 11 firms raised a combined $14.6 billion in IPO proceeds during 2025, the class of 2026 faces a starkly different environment: Bitcoin down 52% from its October 2025 high of $126,220, spot ETF outflows exceeding $6.39 billion across four consecutive months, and exchange trading volumes at multi-year lows.
BitGo, the first crypto firm to list in 2026, has seen its stock fall 54% from its $18 IPO price to $8.23 as of April 1. CoinShares opened on Nasdaq the same day with a 22% premarket selloff. Gemini, the Winklevoss-founded exchange that went public in 2025, trades at $4.50 — down 87% from its post-IPO high of $45.89. Kraken, once targeting a $20 billion valuation, froze its IPO filing on March 17. The data tells a consistent story: public markets are repricing crypto equity at steep discounts to private-round valuations.
Yet the pipeline is not empty. Securitize, BlackRock's tokenization partner, is pursuing a $1.25 billion SPAC with Cantor Fitzgerald. Copper, the London-based custodian, is in early-stage IPO discussions with Goldman Sachs and Citi. The question is no longer whether crypto firms can go public — 2025 settled that — but whether they can stay public at valuations that justify the cost of being listed.
The year 2025 represented an inflection point. For the first time, crypto-native companies accessed US capital markets at scale. According to PitchBook data, at least 11 crypto firms completed IPOs or direct listings, collectively raising approximately $14.6 billion — a 47x increase from 2024's $310 million.
The marquee deals:
Circle (CRCL) debuted on the NYSE on June 5, 2025, pricing at $31 per share. Demand was extraordinary: shares touched $298.99 within weeks, giving the USDC issuer a peak market capitalization above $20 billion. JPMorgan, Citi, and Goldman Sachs led the offering. ARK Invest committed $150 million; BlackRock reportedly took a 10% stake.
Bullish (BLSH) priced at $37 on August 13, upsized from 20 million to 30 million shares, and raised $1.11 billion. The Peter Thiel-backed, Tom Farley-led exchange opened at $90 (a 143% premium) before closing at $68. Peak intraday valuation reached $13.16 billion.
Gemini (GEMI) raised $425 million at a ~$3 billion valuation in September 2025, a 33% increase from the original target. The Winklevoss-founded exchange listed on Nasdaq under the ticker GEMI.
Figure Technologies (FIGR) raised $787.5 million, implying a $5.3 billion valuation for its blockchain-enabled consumer finance platform.
The common thread: all of these firms went public during a period when Bitcoin traded between $95,000 and $126,000, ETF inflows were positive, and the SEC-CFTC regulatory framework was taking shape. The window was open, and the market rewarded first movers.
The environment shifted dramatically between October 2025 and January 2026. Bitcoin fell 52% from its all-time high after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish nomination triggered a broad risk-asset selloff. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $6.39 billion in net outflows across four consecutive months before reversing with $2.5 billion in March inflows. The Fear and Greed Index spent 46 consecutive days in "extreme fear" territory.
BitGo (BTGO) priced its IPO at $18 on January 22, 2026, raising $212.8 million and becoming the first crypto listing of the year. Goldman Sachs led the offering. The stock briefly traded above $24 on its first day, then began a sustained decline. As of April 1, BTGO trades at $8.23 — a 54% loss from its IPO price. The company's $2.08 billion IPO valuation has compressed to approximately $960 million. Despite the selloff, 10 of 10 covering analysts maintain buy ratings, with a consensus 12-month target of $14.79.
CoinShares (CSHR) completed its $1.2 billion SPAC merger with Vine Hill Capital and began trading on Nasdaq on April 1, 2026. The European digital asset manager, previously listed in Stockholm, manages over $6 billion in assets. The debut was inauspicious: a 22% premarket selloff as SPAC arbitrage positions unwound and broader crypto sentiment remained depressed.
The contrast with 2025 is quantifiable. BitGo's first-day pop (33% intraday) evaporated within a week. Bullish's first-day pop (143%) sustained for months. The difference is not the companies — it is the cycle.
The most telling data point comes from the 2025 cohort's performance in 2026 market conditions.
Gemini (GEMI) has experienced the sharpest decline. From a 52-week high of $45.89, shares fell to $3.91 before recovering marginally to $4.50. That represents an 87% drawdown from peak and a market capitalization of approximately $522 million — well below its $3 billion IPO valuation. Goldman Sachs cut its price target from $7.50 to $6.50 in March. Investor lawsuits alleging IPO disclosure deficiencies have been filed.
Circle (CRCL), despite its $2.75 billion in trailing twelve-month revenue, fell from its $298.99 peak to a low of $49.90 on February 5, 2026, an 83% drawdown coinciding with Bitcoin's bottom. The stock has since recovered to $123.43 — still down 59% from highs but up 298% from its IPO price, making it the clear outperformer in the cohort.
Kraken never made it to market. Payward, Kraken's parent, filed a confidential S-1 on November 19, 2025 — one day after raising $800 million at a $20 billion valuation with a $200 million anchor from Citadel Securities. On March 17, 2026, the company froze its IPO plans indefinitely. The stated reason: "difficult market conditions." Trading volumes across crypto exchanges had declined 40-60% from October peaks, undermining the revenue trajectory that would support a $15-20 billion public valuation.
Despite the carnage, the IPO pipeline has not shut down entirely — it has shifted toward infrastructure and tokenization plays.
Securitize is pursuing a public listing through a SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners II at a $1.25 billion pre-money valuation. The deal is expected to close in H1 2026, with shares trading on Nasdaq under ticker SECZ. Securitize has tokenized over $4 billion in assets through partnerships with BlackRock, Apollo, KKR, Hamilton Lane, and VanEck. Existing holders — including ARK Invest, BlackRock, Blockchain Capital, and Morgan Stanley Investment Management — are rolling 100% of their equity into the combined entity. The NYSE has tapped Securitize to build its tokenized stock trading platform, announced March 25, providing a tangible revenue catalyst.
Copper, the London-based crypto custodian, is in early-stage IPO discussions with Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Deutsche Bank, according to January 2026 reports. Copper provides institutional-grade custody using multi-party computation (MPC), plus settlement and prime brokerage. A decision to proceed depends on near-term revenue targets. The company officially declines to comment on listing plans.
The pattern is notable. The firms still pursuing public listings are infrastructure providers — custody, tokenization, settlement — not exchanges or trading platforms. Public markets appear to be drawing a clear line between recurring-revenue "plumbing" businesses and transaction-fee-dependent exchange models.
The performance dispersion within the crypto public equity universe reveals a structural preference.
| Company | Type | IPO Price | Current Price (Apr 1) | Change | |---------|------|-----------|----------------------|--------| | Circle (CRCL) | Stablecoin infrastructure | $31 | $123.43 | +298% | | Bullish (BLSH) | Exchange | $37 | ~$38* | ~+3% | | BitGo (BTGO) | Custody/infrastructure | $18 | $8.23 | -54% | | Gemini (GEMI) | Exchange | ~$17 | $4.50 | -74% | | CoinShares (CSHR) | Asset management | SPAC at ~$10 | ~$7.80* | -22% |
*Estimates based on available data.
Circle's relative outperformance is instructive. Despite an 83% peak-to-trough drawdown, the stock has recovered because USDC's utility as payments infrastructure generates revenue regardless of speculative trading volume. Circle's $2.75 billion annual revenue comes primarily from interest on USDC reserves — a function of circulation volume and interest rates, not crypto price levels.
Exchanges face a different calculus. Gemini, Bullish, and Kraken derive revenue from trading fees, which correlate directly with crypto market volatility and volume. When Bitcoin falls 52% and volumes contract, exchange revenues follow.
The emerging pattern from the IPO pipeline confirms this thesis: Securitize (tokenization), Copper (custody), and CoinShares (asset management) represent the infrastructure layer. The market is signaling that it will pay for crypto plumbing but not for crypto casinos — at least not at 2025 valuations.
$14.6 billion in 2025 crypto IPOs has been followed by severe public-market repricing. BitGo (-54%), Gemini (-87% from peak), and Circle (-59% from peak) illustrate the scope of the correction.
Kraken's IPO freeze marks the end of the bull-market listing window. The $20 billion private valuation is unlikely to hold in current conditions.
Infrastructure firms are outperforming exchanges in public markets. Circle's revenue model (reserve interest) proves more durable than trading-fee models during drawdowns.
The IPO pipeline has not closed — it has narrowed. Securitize and Copper are pursuing listings with infrastructure-first narratives and institutional backers (BlackRock, Goldman Sachs).
SPAC route re-emerges as preferred entry. Both CoinShares and Securitize chose SPAC mergers over traditional IPOs, likely reflecting lower execution risk in volatile markets.
Analyst consensus remains constructive despite losses. BitGo carries a unanimous buy rating; the gap between analyst targets and current prices suggests either deep value or persistent overoptimism.
The 2025-2026 crypto IPO cycle has compressed a full market narrative into 18 months. The euphoric window of mid-2025 — when Circle could leave $1.72 billion on the table from IPO underpricing and Bullish could open at 143% above its offer price — has given way to a sober reassessment. The same macro forces that drove Bitcoin from $126,000 to $60,000 have slashed crypto equity valuations by 50-87% from peaks.
The structural takeaway is that public markets are disaggregating "crypto" into component parts and pricing them differently. Infrastructure that generates recurring revenue — stablecoin issuance, custody, tokenization — commands premium multiples even in drawdowns. Exchange and trading businesses, dependent on volume and volatility, are priced as cyclicals with corresponding discounts.
For the pipeline of firms still considering listings, the message is clear: show recurring revenue, institutional clients, and regulatory compliance. The era of listing on narrative alone ended when Bitcoin crossed below $70,000.