Remember when Coinbase went public in April 2021? Bitcoin was riding high, everyone thought $100K was coming next week, and the direct listing valued the exchange at $86 billion. Then crypto winter hit. The stock cratered 80%. Investors who bought the hype got absolutely wrecked.
Now BitGo wants to go public with a $2 billion valuation, pricing shares at $15 to $17. The S-1 filing just hit the SEC’s desk. Bitcoin above $95K. Retail money is flooding in again. And honestly? The whole thing feels way too familiar.
BitGo IPO Comes at a Suspicious Time
BitGo isn’t some fly-by-night operation. They’ve been around since 2013. They provide custody services for over 800 digital assets. Big institutions trust them with billions in crypto. The company survived 2022 when half the industry went bankrupt. That counts for something.
But timing matters in crypto more than in almost any other industry. Companies always go public when valuations are stretched and sentiment runs hot. Nobody files for an IPO during bear markets when Bitcoin trades at $16K, and volumes disappear. They wait until retail investors come back and start buying anything crypto-related.
The BitGo IPO follows this exact pattern. The SEC approved spot ETFs. Trump won the election and promised crypto-friendly policies. Market sentiment shifted from despair to greed practically overnight. Of course, BitGo picked now to go public.
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The Custody Business Has Real Problems
Here’s what Wall Street investors need to understand about crypto custody. When prices go up and trading volumes explode, custody companies make great money. When markets crash and institutions pull back, revenue drops fast. There’s no steady recurring income like a SaaS business.
BitGo charges fees based on assets under custody and transaction volumes. Both metrics are directly tied to crypto prices and market activity. During 2022’s meltdown, the company definitely felt pain, even if it didn’t collapse like Celsius or Voyager.
The S-1 filing will show the real revenue numbers. Investors should focus on how much revenue dropped during the bear market versus how much it recovered in 2024. That spread tells you everything about business stability.
Regulatory Chaos Still Haunts Crypto
The SEC hasn’t figured out what crypto even is yet. Are these commodities? Securities? Something new? Nobody knows for certain, and that creates massive risk for any company handling 800 different tokens.
BitGo could wake up tomorrow and find out that half of its supported assets are now considered unregistered securities. Fines would follow. Clients would flee. The stock would tank. This isn’t hypothetical paranoia. We watched the SEC go after basically everyone in crypto over the past three years.
Sure, Gary Gensler is leaving, and Trump’s administration might bring relief. But regulatory policy doesn’t change overnight. The risk stays real for now.
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What the $2 Billion Valuation Actually Means
Two billion sounds like a lot until you compare it to Coinbase’s current $50 billion market cap. Or until you remember that FTX claimed a $32 billion valuation months before collapsing into fraud and bankruptcy.
Valuations in crypto get disconnected from reality fast. Investors throw money at anything with blockchain in the pitch deck. We saw this in 2017 with ICOs. We saw it again in 2021 with NFTs and DeFi tokens. The pattern repeats because people forget painful lessons within two years.
BitGo probably deserves some premium valuation as a survivor with real business. But $2 billion needs serious revenue and profit to justify it. The S-1 numbers will tell us if management is being realistic or opportunistic.
Why is the BitGo IPO important?
Every crypto IPO serves as a market sentiment indicator. When these offerings succeed and trade up, it signals institutions still believe in crypto’s future. When they flop or get pulled, it means smart money is heading for the exits.
The BitGo IPO will show whether traditional finance has actually learned anything from the last cycle. Are investors doing real due diligence now? Are they demanding reasonable valuations? Or are they still chasing hype and momentum?
My guess? We’re somewhere in the middle. Some institutions will buy because they need crypto exposure, and BitGo offers infrastructure instead of direct token risk. Others will pass because the valuation looks stretched and regulatory uncertainty remains too high.
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What Happens Next
BitGo filed the S-1. Now comes the roadshow, where management pitches institutional investors. They’ll talk about growth prospects, market opportunity, and competitive advantages. Investors will ask hard questions about bear market performance and regulatory risks.
Then we’ll see if the offering price is at the high end ($17) or gets reduced. We’ll see if it trades up on day one or breaks the issue price immediately. These signals matter more than the filing itself.
And we’ll find out if 2026 brings another crypto IPO wave or if BitGo ends up being one of the last companies to squeeze through before the window slams shut again.
The Real Question Nobody Asks
Should crypto custody companies even be public? The business model depends entirely on an asset class that swings 80% routinely. Public market investors hate volatility and unpredictability. They want steady growth and reliable earnings.
BitGo might make more sense as a private company backed by crypto-native investors who understand the cycles. Going public means quarterly earnings calls, analyst expectations, and short-term thinking. That doesn’t match crypto’s long-term building mentality.
But private equity doesn’t offer the same exit liquidity for early investors and employees. So here we are, watching another crypto company test public markets at a time when everything feels just a bit too good to last.
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What’s the deal with BitGo going public?
BitGo filed to go public on NASDAQ at a $2 billion valuation, pricing shares between $15 and $17. They’re betting institutions want exposure to crypto custody infrastructure.
How risky is buying the BitGo IPO?
Pretty risky. The company’s revenue ties directly to crypto prices and trading volumes, which swing wildly. Plus, regulatory uncertainty could blow up the business model overnight.
When can I actually buy BitGo stock?
The S-1 filing just happened. The IPO probably won’t hit until Q1 2026 at the earliest, pending SEC approval and market conditions.
Does BitGo have real customers or just hype?
BitGo has legitimate institutional customers and has operated since 2013. They’re not a scam. Whether they’re worth $2 billion is the actual question.
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Disclaimer:
Look, we’re just journalists reporting the news here, not your financial advisors. Everything you read above is for information purposes only. Crypto is wild, unpredictable, and can absolutely wreck your savings if you’re not careful. Never invest money you can’t afford to lose. Seriously, we mean it. Do your own research, talk to actual licensed financial professionals, and remember that past performance means absolutely nothing when it comes to future results. The crypto market can turn on a dime, and what’s hot today might be toast tomorrow. We’re not responsible for your investment decisions, good or bad. Trade smart, stay safe, and don’t bet the farm on anything you read on the internet, including this article.
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