Bullish To Leverage Solana Stablecoins For Strategic $1.15 Billion Capital Raise

Bullish, a cryptocurrency exchange backed by venture capitalist Peter Thiel, has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to utilize Solana (SOL) stablecoins in the exchange’s latest effort to raise $1.15 billion. 

This announcement comes shortly after the exchange went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol BLSH, amid a growing trend of private crypto firms launching their initial public offerings (IPOs). 

How Bullish Leverages The Solana Network

The SEC filing, dated August 19, outlines how Bullish has arranged to receive the $1.15 billion in proceeds from its recently completed initial public offering primarily in stablecoins. This represents a historic first for stablecoins in the context of an initial public offering in the United States.

Most of the stablecoins involved in this capital raise were minted on the Solana network. Investment banking firm Jefferies, acted as the billing and delivery agent for the IPO, coordinating the minting, conversion, and delivery of these stablecoins. 

The filing reads that the exchange received a variety of USD- and EUR-denominated stablecoins, including Circle’s USDC, EUR Coin (EURC), and several others issued by financial institutions and networks such as Paxos and Ripple.

David Bonanno, CFO of Bullish, expressed the company’s forward-looking vision regarding stablecoins. “We view stablecoins as one of the most transformative and widespread use cases for digital assets,” he stated. 

He emphasized that Bullish leverages stablecoins for rapid and secure global fund transfers, particularly on the Solana network. Bonanno also noted that partnerships with stablecoin issuers enhance liquidity and infrastructure on the Bullish Exchange.

BLSH’s 49% Drop In Less Than A Week

Adding to the ongoing developments surrounding the exchange’s efforts to capitalize on the growing adoption of digital assets, Lily Liu, President of the Solana Foundation, highlighted the significance of Bullish’s approach:

Internet Capital Markets enable capital to move faster, with greater transparency, and in a globally accessible manner. Bullish’s use of stablecoins in its IPO merges public market infrastructure with blockchain rails, and highlights Solana’s unique position to power a new era of market efficiency and innovation. 

Greg Tusar, Vice President of Institutional Product at crypto exchange Coinbase, also commented on this development, calling it a pivotal moment for the digital asset ecosystem. 

He underscored the transformative potential of stablecoins in modernizing financial systems and praised Coinbase’s custody solution as integral to supporting this initiative.

Bullish made a major debut on the New York Stock Exchange last Wednesday, opening at $90 per share, which represented a staggering 143% increase from its IPO price of $37. 

However, after reaching a high of $117 on its first trading day, the stock has faced a downward trend, recently retracing to around $59—a decline of nearly 49% in just a week.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com