Gemini shoots for $3.1B valuation, Figure eyes $4.7B as both hike IPO price ranges

Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by billionaires Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of Facebook fame, has raised its proposed price range for its initial public offering in the U.S., now targeting a valuation of more than $3 billion.

In an updated S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Tuesday, Gemini said it now anticipates that the IPO price per share of its Class A common stock will be between $24 and $26, up from $17 to $19 previously.

The crypto exchange, whose legal name is Gemini Space Station, Inc., therefore aims to raise up to $433.3 million by selling 16,666,667 shares in the offering at the top end of the price range. This could be extended to 17,119,474 shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional Class A common stock from Gemini in full. With approximately 118.8 million total Class A and Class B shares outstanding immediately after the offering, that would put the firm's valuation at $3.09 billion.

In an earlier filing on Tuesday, Gemini confirmed that Nasdaq had entered into an agreement to buy $50 million of its Class A common stock in a private placement at a per share price equal to the IPO at close, less underwriting discounts and commissions.

"Based on the initial public offering price of $25 per share (which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), Nasdaq, will purchase 2,116,402 shares of our Class A common stock," the firm said in the subsequent filing.

Gemini also confirmed it had signed a term sheet with Nasdaq to give Nasdaq's clients, including listed companies and member firms, access to crypto custody and staking through Gemini. Gemini will share related fees with Nasdaq and also resell Nasdaq's Calypso collateral management solution to its institutional customers. The deal still requires final agreements, expected after the IPO, and Gemini will update investors once the details are finalized.

Gemini aims to debut on Nasdaq this Friday, trading under the ticker "GEMI." It will become the third publicly traded crypto exchange in the U.S., following Coinbase and Bullish.

Figure also lifts price range amid crypto IPO boom

Gemini joins a growing list of crypto companies seeking to go public, including BitGo, Grayscale, Kraken, and Figure. Crypto platform Bullish recently saw its shares jump over 150% on their NYSE debut day last month. Circle, issuer of the USDC stablecoin, also had a blockbuster IPO launch earlier this year.

In its amended S-1 filing on Tuesday, Mike Cagney-founded blockchain-based lending firm Figure Technology Solutions also raised its estimated IPO price range to between $20 and $22 per share from $18 to $20. The company plans to offer approximately 26.6 million shares of its Class A common stock in the IPO, with stockholders providing an additional 4.85 million, bringing the total offering to 31.5 million shares — upsized from around 26.3 million previously.

At the top end of the price range, Figure's IPO would raise roughly $693 million, and value the company at roughly $4.7 billion with approximately 211.7 million total Class A and Class B shares outstanding immediately after the offering, excluding the underwriters' overallotment option.