Crypto Goes Public: BitGo’s IPO is a Goldmine, Ripple Says “Nah, We’re Good”

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Well, butter my bitcoin, BitGo Holdings has gone and upped the ante on its IPO, slapping a price tag of $18 per share on its digital goodies. That’s a tidy sum, considering they were originally eyeing a range of $15 to $17. According to those nosy folks at Reuters, they’re planning to flog 11.8 million shares, which, at the top end, would’ve netted them a mere $201 million. But oh no, by the time the clock struck closing bell, they’d raked in a cool $212.8 million. Not too shabby for a day’s work, eh? This little crypto caper now values BitGo at a whopping $2.08 billion. Talk about a digital gold rush!

This Palo Alto bunch has been itching to go public for longer than a troll under a bridge, hoping to ride the wave of everyone suddenly wanting a piece of the digital asset pie. Last September, they filed for a US IPO, dreaming of seeing their Class A shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BTGO. Fancy that!

Come January 12th, they were crowing about aiming for a valuation of up to $1.96 billion in the first cryptocurrency IPO of the year. Goldman Sachs, those masters of the financial universe, are leading the charge as underwriters, with Citigroup lending a hand. With the IPO now live, BitGo will be playing by NYSE rules as a “controlled company.” Let’s see how they handle the big leagues!

Ripple Says “No Thanks” to the IPO Circus

While BitGo’s popping the champagne corks, Ripple Labs, those San Francisco blockchain whizz-kids, have decided the IPO life isn’t for them. President Monica Long, as cool as a cucumber, declared they have no plans to go public in 2026. Apparently, their balance sheet is as strong as a dwarf’s beard, and they don’t need the public’s money to keep the lights on.

Long reckons most companies go public for liquidity and a wider investor base. Ripple, she says, already has both. They raised a tidy $500 million in November 2025 at a $40 billion valuation, attracting bigwigs like Fortress Investment Group, Citadel Securities, and some major crypto funds. Not to mention that $1 billion tender offer they pulled off earlier in 2025 at the same valuation. They’ve even bought back over 25% of their outstanding shares – talk about financial muscle!

So, while BitGo’s diving headfirst into the public pool, Ripple’s content to stay in its private pond, splashing around in its own financial abundance. Two very different approaches, but both seem to be doing just fine in this wild world of crypto.

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2026-01-22 13:30