Bullish, the crypto-asset trading venue owned by billionaire Peter Thiel, is not going public for the time being.
Public takeover vehicle Far Peak Acquisition, under which the company was to slip, and Bullish canceled their proposed $9 billion merger after the US market close on Thursday.
Bullish wanted to merge into the New York Stock Exchange and into the Far Peak Acquisition, which offers an empty shell (SPAC).
Behind Bullish, a subsidiary of blockchain software firm Block.one, are Peter Thiel's Thiel Capital and Founders Fund, UK hedge fund manager Alan Howard, US hedge fund manager Louis Bacon, Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li, the Apeiron Investment Group of the German investor Christian Angermayer, Galaxy Digital and the Japanese bank Nomura.
The reason for the cancellation of the IPO lies in the requirements of the American securities regulator SEC, which is currently paying attention to both crypto assets and SPAC transactions.
The authority is working on a framework for crypto assets, which should also include disclosure and accounting standards.
However, these prove to be complex.