Key Points 　　This week's Bullish IPO represents the latest sign of renewed Wall Street enthusiasm for new tech company listings. 　　Prior to Bullish's 84% stock surge, both Figma and Circle more than doubled in value during their recent public debuts. 　　Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman told CNBC this week that there are "quite a number of well-positioned companies" planning to go public in the second half of this year.

Cryptocurrency exchange operator Bullish's Chairman Brendan Blumer and CEO Tom Farley pose with employees during the company's IPO at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City on August 13, 2025.

This week's Bullish IPO was significant, perhaps because of the company's name (Bullish meaning optimistic). 　　On Wednesday, the Peter Thiel-backed cryptocurrency exchange's stock more than doubled at the opening and closed the day up 84%, marking the latest sign of a bull market return for tech company IPOs. 　　In July, design software provider Figma more than tripled on its New York Stock Exchange debut, while a month earlier, cryptocurrency company Circle soared 168% in its first day of NYSE trading. 　　Wall Street had been waiting for this for a long time. 　　Three years ago, high inflation and soaring interest rates effectively shut down the IPO market. Tech stocks plummeted, private capital dried up, forcing cash-burning startups to shift focus from growth to efficiency and profitability. 　　Earlier this year, barriers seemed to be loosening as companies like StubHub and Klarna filed prospectuses, but then President Donald Trump disrupted markets in April with his comprehensive tariff plans. Roadshows were indefinitely postponed. 　　The President's tariff agenda has since stabilized, with investor funds flowing into the tech sector, pushing the Nasdaq to historic highs—up more than 40% from April lows. As CEOs and venture capitalists become increasingly confident that public markets will welcome their top companies, there's growing optimism that the backlog of high-valuation startups will continue to diminish. 　　Before Figma's listing, NYSE President Lynn Martin told CNBC's "Street Signs" that enormous demand for the offering could "open the floodgates" for other parts of the market. Earlier this week, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman told "Fast Money" that there are "quite a number of well-positioned companies" planning IPOs in the second half of this year before the holiday season. 　　"I've been meeting with many CEOs, getting them ready to think about what they want in public markets and where they're headed in the future," Friedman said. 　　According to CB Insights data, there are over 24 venture-backed U.S. tech companies valued at $10 billion or more. StubHub has updated its prospectus, indicating an imminent initial public offering. 　　"The IPO window has opened," FirstMark venture capital partner Rick Heitzmann said in a CNBC "Closing Bell" interview this week. "You can see broad support for IPOs across the industry, so we're advising our portfolio companies to prepare and go public." 　　Another important topic discussed by venture capitalists and bankers is the regulatory environment. 　　The Biden administration faced criticism from startup investors for cracking down on major acquisitions, largely attributed to what was perceived as Lina Khan's tough stance at the Federal Trade Commission, while also failing to ease restrictions they say made going public less attractive than staying private. 　　New SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said in July that he wants to "make IPOs great again" by eliminating some barriers around disclosure complexity and litigation risk. He has yet to provide many specific recommendations. 　　Friedman told CNBC that her first conversation with Atkins after he took office was about how to make it easier and more attractive for companies to go public. 　　"The conversation was constructive in many ways, covering disclosure requirements, proxy procedures, and other things that really make it difficult for companies to go public and navigate public markets," Friedman said. "He's as interested as we are, so hopefully we can translate that into effective action." 　　Beyond the massive gains by Bullish, Figma, and Circle, public markets also welcomed online banking provider Chime last month, which rose 37%; in May, trading app eToro climbed 29%. The health tech market has seen two IPOs: Hinge Health and Omada Health. 　　But it was Circle and Figma's explosive debuts that sparked discussions about a new IPO bull market. Figma surged 250% on IPO day after pricing $1 above its updated range. Stablecoin issuer Circle also more than doubled its market cap after pricing above its expected range.

Figma celebrates its initial public offering at the New York Stock Exchange on July 31, 2025.

This price action has reignited a debate that existed before the last IPO boom of 2020 and 2021, when venture capitalist Bill Gurley argued that massive first-day gains indicated deliberately low IPO pricing that harmed companies while allowing new investors easy profits. Gurley advocated for direct listings, where companies list shares for trading at prices that essentially match demand. 　　During Figma's listing, Gurley again addressed this point, calling such massive gains an "expected and completely intentional" result that benefits major investment banks' clients. 　　"They bought at $33 last night and can sell today at over $90," he wrote. In a follow-up post, he said: "I had hoped to see direct listings replace IPOs—matching supply and demand makes sense. But Wall Street may be too addicted to this massive client giveaway." 　　Liz Byer, founder of IPO advisory firm Class V Group, wrote on LinkedIn that companies have the right to decide stock pricing and engage in thorough consideration during the process. Moreover, in IPOs, companies only sell a small portion of outstanding shares—about 7% in Figma's case—so if they can achieve performance targets, "there will likely be many future opportunities to sell more shares at higher prices." 　　This is already happening. 　　Circle announced this week that it will issue another 10 million shares in a secondary offering. On Friday, CNBC's Leslie Picker reported that CoreWeave's bankers (whose stock has risen 150% since its March IPO) orchestrated some block trades this week. 　　But Byer warns that tech markets have a history of overheating. While there will always be differences between what institutions are willing to pay in IPOs versus what frenzied retail investors will pay, currently "this gap is something we really haven't seen since 1999, 2000," Byer told CNBC, adding, "Of course, we all know how that ended." 　　She said that compared to the internet bubble era, companies going public now have substantial revenue and real fundamentals, but that doesn't mean IPO surges are sustainable. 　　"It's almost like we've experienced years of prohibition," Byer said, referring to America's alcohol prohibition period a century ago. "In some cases, people are over-'drinking' in the IPO market (meaning over-speculating)."