Why Crypto IPOs Are Collapsing in 2026 (Gemini, BitGo, Bullish Down 70-90%)

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Investing in individual stocks, especially newly public companies, carries real risk of loss. Please do your own research and consult a qualified financial professional before making investment decisions.

$37 down to $4.19. That's Gemini Space Station's stock chart since it went public in September 2025, an 89% collapse in under ten months. It's not an isolated case either. 

BitGo has fallen 77% since its January 2026 debut. Bullish, the parent company of CoinDesk, is down 71% from its opening price. According to InvestingNews, this is now the worst stretch of post-IPO returns the crypto industry has ever seen.

If you've been considering putting money into a newly public crypto company, or you're already holding shares that have cratered since you bought in, I think it's worth understanding exactly why this happened, because the reasons run deeper than "crypto is just volatile."

The Numbers Across the Board

Gemini and BitGo aren't outliers. Looking at six of the largest crypto companies that have gone public since mid-2025, the pattern is strikingly consistent, though not uniform.

Gemini Space Station, the exchange and custody firm founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, went public at $37 in September 2025 and now trades around $4.19, down about 89% from its opening price.

BitGo, a crypto custody firm, priced its IPO at $18 in January 2026, opened trading at $22.43, and now sits roughly 77% below that opening price. Bullish opened at $90 and has fallen about 71% since.

eToro, the trading platform, is down about 42% from its $69.69 opening price. Figure is off about 14% from its $36 debut. Circle, the stablecoin issuer, is down only about 6% from its opening price.

That last one is worth pausing on, because it flips the story depending on how you measure it. Measured against IPO offer prices rather than opening trading prices, Circle is actually up around 110%, and Figure is up about 24% from its offer price.

The other four remain underwater even measured that generously. That gap between offer price and opening price tells you something important on its own: a lot of these stocks popped hard on their first day of trading, then spent the following months giving all of that pop back and then some.

Also Read: How Crypto Debit Cards Are Booming in Emerging Markets

Why This Is Happening

I don't think this is simply "crypto had a bad year." The timing, the business models, and the broader market backdrop all point to a more specific set of causes.

Nearly all of them launched near the top

Every one of these companies went public between September 2025 and January 2026, which turned out to be very close to the peak of the crypto cycle. Bitcoin hit its all-time high of roughly $126,000 in October 2025.

Companies going public in that window were pricing their shares based on investor enthusiasm and trading volumes that were unusually elevated, not a sustainable baseline.

When crypto prices turned lower starting in the fourth quarter of 2025, and Bitcoin has since fallen to around $60,000 to $64,000, roughly half of where it once traded, these companies were left holding valuations built for a market that no longer exists.

Their revenue is tied directly to trading volume

Several of these companies, particularly exchanges like Gemini and trading platforms like eToro, generate a large share of their revenue from transaction fees on crypto trading. When token prices fall and investor enthusiasm cools, trading volume tends to drop sharply, and that hits revenue directly.

Gemini itself reported a net loss of over $159 million in a recent quarter, with loan losses exceeding $83 million, numbers that reflect just how exposed a trading-dependent business model is to a downturn in the broader market it serves.

The broader index tells the same story

It isn't just these individual names either. The CoinDesk 20 index, which tracks a broad basket of major cryptocurrencies, has fallen roughly 33% over the same period these companies have been public.

Crypto equities have generally fallen even harder than the underlying tokens, which suggests investors aren't just pricing in lower crypto prices, they're pricing in genuine uncertainty about whether these companies' business models hold up during a prolonged downturn.

Not every business model is equally exposed

This is the part I think is most useful for anyone trying to learn something from this rather than just watching the carnage. The companies faring relatively better, Circle and Figure, aren't purely trading-dependent businesses.

Circle's revenue comes largely from the reserves backing its stablecoin, a business model that holds up more consistently regardless of trading volume swings.

BitGo, despite its steep stock decline, was actually pitched at its IPO specifically as a custody and staking business with more predictable revenue than a trading-heavy exchange, and analysts noted that thesis as a reason its underlying fundamentals might justify a valuation above its offer price even if the stock price doesn't currently reflect that.

The takeaway isn't that every crypto company is doomed together. It's that the market is now drawing a real distinction between businesses with steady, service-based revenue and businesses whose fortunes rise and fall with token prices and trading enthusiasm.

Also Read: Bitcoin Fell 50% From Its Peak - Is This a Buying Opportunity or a Warning?

The IPO Window Is Already Closing

The scale of these losses hasn't gone unnoticed by other companies waiting in line to go public. Payward, the parent company of the Kraken exchange, paused its own IPO plans in March 2026.

Grayscale has delayed its offering and may not resume the process before the fourth quarter of 2026. Consensys and Ledger have reportedly postponed their plans as well.

That's a meaningful signal on its own. Companies typically go public when conditions are favorable, and a wave of postponed listings tells you the industry itself doesn't currently see a receptive market for new crypto stock offerings.

Whether that window reopens likely depends on where crypto prices settle over the coming months, and given how unpredictable this cycle has already been, including a US-Iran conflict that's added extra volatility to broader financial markets, I wouldn't bet confidently on a quick turnaround.

Also Read: Crypto and Blockchain: What It Actually Is and What You Need to Know

How to Evaluate a Crypto IPO

I think there are a few honest lessons here for anyone thinking about investing in a newly public crypto company, whether it's one of these six or a future listing once the window reopens.

Separate the business model from the crypto price story. A company whose revenue comes primarily from trading fees is making a very different bet than one earning steady, recurring revenue from custody, staking, or infrastructure services.

Both can be legitimate businesses, but they carry very different risk profiles during a downturn, and the recent performance gap between Circle and Gemini illustrates that difference clearly.

Be skeptical of first-day pops. Several of these stocks jumped significantly above their offer price on their opening day of trading, only to give that gain back over the following months.

A strong opening pop often reflects short-term hype and limited share availability more than a company's actual long-term value, and chasing that momentum after the fact has, in this case, meant buying in near the peak.

Understand what you're actually valuing. A crypto exchange or custody firm isn't the same thing as owning Bitcoin or another token directly. You're betting on a company's ability to generate profit and navigate competition and regulation, on top of everything the underlying crypto market itself is already doing.

That adds a layer of business risk that doesn't exist when you simply hold the asset directly. Watch how correlated the stock is to crypto prices generally.

Some of these companies have shown a tendency to rally hard on strong Bitcoin days and fall just as sharply when crypto turns lower, which means you're often taking on amplified volatility compared to holding crypto itself, in both directions.

Pay attention to timing relative to the broader cycle. Nearly every company in this batch went public within a few months of the market's cyclical peak.

If a similar wave of crypto IPOs picks back up once conditions improve, it's worth asking honestly whether that timing reflects genuine long-term investor demand or another attempt to capture enthusiasm near a market top.

Also Read: Understanding Robo-Advisors and How They Manage Investments

Conclusion

I think what's happened to this batch of crypto IPOs is a pretty clear illustration of a lesson that shows up across markets repeatedly, not just in crypto. Companies that go public during a period of peak enthusiasm, with revenue models tightly tied to that same enthusiasm continuing, tend to struggle badly once conditions normalize.

The businesses in this group with steadier, less speculative revenue streams have held up meaningfully better than the ones most directly exposed to trading volume and token price swings.

If you're evaluating any future crypto IPO, I'd encourage looking past the excitement of the listing itself and asking the more boring question that actually determines long-term outcomes: what does this company's revenue depend on, and how does that revenue hold up when the broader market isn't cooperating?

Based on what's happened to this current batch of listings, that question matters more than almost anything else.

About the Author: Abdullah is the founder of Elite Pulse Global and a writer focused on personal finance, investing, and wealth-building strategies, drawing on his experience running a manufacturing business and managing its finances day to day. He focuses on practical money decisions — budgeting, investing, and building long-term financial discipline — over trends and hype.