By Ashrith Rao

After the chilly skepticism of the “crypto winter,” crypto asset markets are not only warming up , but are in the process of a historic recovery.

From early 2024 to mid-2025, the cryptoasset market surprised even veteran financial experts with its astonishing rise and resilience.

The new foundation is more solid.

There are fewer scammers on crypto platforms, the technology is more mature, crypto assets have received support from the US President, and the scale of investors and participants has also expanded significantly.

Listing and trading activities in the crypto industry are booming, driven by enthusiastic support from traditional wealth management institutions and ordinary retail investors.

Circle's frenetic IPO leads the way

Circle’s blockbuster IPO marks a wave of crypto asset public listings that Wall Street failed to detect as a result of its massive pre-IPO undervaluation.

Now, crypto giants and Wall Street bigwigs are preparing to profit from the coming initial public offering (IPO) boom.

The market’s thirst for crypto stocks was on full display in Circle’s (USDC stablecoin issuer) first week of trading, when its share price soared from its IPO price of $31 to $107.

On the first day of listing , Circle's stock price soared by more than 168% , far exceeding market expectations.

Circle’s huge success may prompt more crypto companies to follow suit or accelerate their listing plans.

This successful IPO highlights its broad impact on the crypto market, with Circle creating a compelling story in the current crypto-friendly climate in the United States.

Circle’s IPO sets a new benchmark for the industry, and the public’s acceptance of digital assets is increasing.

Upcoming IPOs

In recent weeks, several high-profile companies from high-risk sectors, particularly crypto assets and fintech, have successfully gone public, signaling a recovery in capital markets activity and strong demand.

The recent increase in crypto IPOs marks a critical moment for the industry, indicating that crypto companies are becoming more confident in attracting mainstream investors.

The trend also brings greater transparency, regulatory scrutiny, and capital inflows, potentially solidifying crypto assets’ place in traditional financial markets.

Bullish, a crypto trading platform backed by Peter Thiel, has filed confidential IPO documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

As an offshoot of blockchain software company Block.one, Bullish attempted to go public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2021.

But the plan collapsed in 2022 amid a regulatory crackdown and surging interest rates that roiled stock markets.

The Trump administration's policies diverge significantly from those of the Biden administration, which has taken a relaxed stance on crypto asset regulation and supported industry policy goals, and the SEC has also suspended several investigations.

According to the Financial Times, Bullish hopes to capitalize on the current revival in investor enthusiasm for digital assets.

Bullish’s filing comes on the heels of an announcement from Gemini, the crypto trading platform run by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, which revealed last week that it had filed confidential paperwork for a U.S. IPO.

Gemini is a crypto trading platform that supports users to purchase, trade and store more than 70 tokens. The issuance scale or pricing range has not yet been determined.

The Wen twins became famous for suing Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, claiming that Zuckerberg stole their social media idea.

They said they reached a settlement in 2008 and received Facebook shares and cash compensation.

The price of Bitcoin has broken through the key milestone of $110,000 per coin, and the current valuation of the global crypto asset industry is approximately $3.22 trillion.

Institutional investors have poured billions of dollars into the asset class to gain exposure, especially after the U.S. approved a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Coinbase's inclusion in the S&P 500 index in May was a milestone for the U.S. crypto asset industry.

Crypto companies are increasingly integrating into traditional markets as the industry develops financially and legislatively.

Although no official documents have been filed, San Francisco-based trading platform Kraken is rumored to be preparing for an IPO in early 2026. The company last raised $13.5 million in 2019 at a valuation of $4 billion, and is reportedly in talks with financial institutions to finalize debt financing to accelerate pre-IPO growth.

In February, it was reported that the US custody company Bitgo was considering an IPO as early as this year , but had not yet submitted formal documents. In August 2023, Bitgo completed its latest round of financing, with a valuation of US$1.75 billion.

These are just some of the many companies that will soon announce plans to go public following Circle’s warm reception.

Given the stellar performance of Bitcoin treasury stocks and ETFs, investing in shares of companies supporting the industry’s infrastructure seems like a logical choice.

Crypto trading surges

Trading activity in the crypto asset space is booming due to strong business growth, political support, and regulatory support.

After experiencing strict regulatory restrictions, the U.S. crypto asset industry is ushering in a golden age.

Many in the industry hope that President Trump’s second term will bring an end to the government crackdown on crypto assets over the past few years.

For example, after Trump's election, the price of Bitcoin soared nearly 50%, hitting an all-time high of more than $111,000 last month.

Increased institutional adoption, public interest, and technological advancement are the three factors driving the U.S. crypto trading market from $9.8 billion in 2024 to $29.8 billion in 2033.

Europe is also following the United States' lead.

Supportive legal frameworks are expected to play an important role in the expected growth of the European crypto-asset market, which is expected to increase from $6.9 billion in 2024 to $27.6 billion in 2033.

For example, at the end of 2024, the European Union enacted the Crypto-Asset Markets Directive, which aims to "regulate the Wild West of crypto assets."

Amid the fierce competition to continue to drive digital transformation and provide innovative services to customers , transaction volumes in the technology and financial services sectors in the United States and Europe expanded significantly in 2024 and the first quarter of this year.

Financial sector companies saw significant growth in overall deal value compared to the previous year as they pursue advanced digital technologies.

In 2024, crypto trading in the United States and Europe increased significantly, driven by favorable market conditions.

Last year, 93 deals were announced with a total value of $4.1 billion , a 2.5-fold increase in value and a 19% rise in deal volume compared to the previous year, according to Mergermarket data.

A closer look shows that the United States plays a key role in the significant growth in total value through 2024.

The total value of the 45 announced crypto deals was just over $3.2 billion, almost five times the amount in 2023. During this period, the EMEA region recorded 48 deals, eight more than the previous year. However, the total value fell slightly, down 5% from the previous year to $918 million.

Amid challenges in the broader M&A market, the first quarter of 2025 was strong, with 23 deals valued at $655 million completed in the U.S. and Europe.

Europe led the way in the March quarter with 12 deals valued at $348 million, up 9% and 21% year-over-year, while the U.S. slowed with 11 deals valued at $307 million, down 26% and 66% year-over-year.

The decline in US value is attributed to several major transactions in 2024, most notably the acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure provider Bridge Ventures by US-Irish fintech giant Stripe. The deal was valued at $1 billion, making it the largest acquisition in the crypto industry to date.

Stripe aims to improve its stablecoin services, which have proven to be a viable method for international transactions via blockchain. With lower fees and instant settlement capabilities, stablecoins offer a safe and reliable alternative to traditional payments.

summary

Driven by favorable transatlantic government initiatives, the integration of fintech and crypto assets will become an important trend to watch in 2025.

Financial institutions and payment companies are working to improve the efficiency of their digital products, while emerging crypto companies will expand their scale in a highly competitive market through mergers and acquisitions.

These dynamics will rapidly reshape the market, and M&A will play a key role in achieving this.