Crypto and AI IPOs dragged 2025 debuts below S&P 500 gains

Crypto and AI-based initial public offerings in 2025 pulled down the performance of US public debuts, which gained a weighted average of 13.9% compared with the S&P 500’s 16% rise, Bloomberg reported. The figure excludes closed-end funds and blank-check companies. Not all listings performed the same way.

Circle Internet Group (CRCL) priced a $1.05 billion IPO at $31 and saw shares jump 170% on debut, but its stock later fell, closing at $79.30 on Dec. 31 and at $84.80 on Monday, and is nearly 70% below a peak of over $263. Gemini (GEMI) priced at $28 peaked above $32.50, dropped 64.5% to $9.92 by Dec.

31 and recovered to $11.12 on Monday; shares have sunk over 65% since its September IPO. Bullish (BLSH) opened at $37 and ended its debut day at $68 but was at $37.87 on Dec. 31. The outlet also said bets on AI companies such as data center developer Fermi and expense platform Navan underperformed.

Performance varied by deal size: offerings priced between $500 million and $1 billion rose a weighted average of 5.6%, while those valued at $1 billion or more averaged about 20%. The largest IPO was Medline’s $7.2 billion offering, whose stock climbed 40% since its mid-December debut; by contrast, Venture Global’s $1.75 billion offering was cut by 40% before debut and its shares have plummeted 72%.

Key Topics

Crypto, Circle Internet Group, Gemini, Bullish, Fermi, Navan