Brokerage behind major crypto treasury deals eyes $10–12B public listing: FT

Clear Street — the NY brokerage that’s been fueling the crypto-treasury boom — is gearing up for a massive $10–12B public listing. Goldman Sachs is set to lead the offering, with the deal possibly dropping as early as next month (though insiders say it might not price before January).

Founded in 2018, Clear Street blew up as dozens of public companies adopted the “crypto treasury” playbook: raise capital via equity/debt markets, then dump it all into Bitcoin. The strategy was basically invented by Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy, which has stacked 650,000 BTC through multiple stock and convertible offerings — many underwritten by Clear Street.

They also underwrote Trump Media and Technology Group, which has signaled plans to raise billions to build its own Bitcoin treasury operation.

According to its site, Clear Street has underwritten about $91B in combined equity, debt, and M&A deals this year alone — including transactions for crypto advocates Anthony Pompliano and former US presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

But here’s the twist: Clear Street’s IPO ambitions hit just as the crypto-treasury model that made them famous is starting to crack. Bitcoin is down roughly 30% since early October, and MicroStrategy’s share price has tanked 60% over the past six months.

Many smaller crypto treasury firms now trade at discounts to the tokens they hold — cutting off their ability to issue new stock to buy more BTC. That’s the exact mechanism that powered the whole model during the bull run.

Galaxy Research recently called this a “Darwinian phase” for Bitcoin treasury companies, noting: “For treasury companies whose equities had been serving as leveraged crypto trades, the shift has been intense. The same financial engineering that amplified upside has magnified downside.”

According to the FT, roughly 316 companies have listed in the US this year, raising around $63B — the highest total since 2021.

Last month, crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments filed an S-1 with the SEC to list on the NYSE. In September, custody firm BitGo also filed for a US listing, and Gemini (run by the Winklevoss twins) made its Nasdaq debut just weeks after submitting its Form S-1.