Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has lined up Nasdaq as a strategic investor as it prepares to go public in New York this week, Reuters reported on Sept. 9, citing people briefed on the matter.

According to the report, the share sale could raise up to $317 million, with Nasdaq expected to buy about $50 million of stock in a private placement at the time of the offering.

Gemini plans to trade under the ticker symbol “GEMI.”

The arrangement is more than financial and Nasdaq’s stake will be paired with a partnership giving its institutional clients access to Gemini’s custody and staking products. In return, Gemini customers will be able to use Nasdaq’s Calypso platform to track and manage collateral.

Neither Nasdaq nor Gemini commented on the details. Reuters noted that the exchange’s plans could still shift depending on market conditions.

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Riding a rebound in listings

The offering comes as U.S. equity markets show renewed demand for new deals, with tech and crypto-related companies drawing strong investor interest. A successful debut would make Gemini the third publicly traded exchange after Coinbase and Bullish.

Gemini currently holds about $21 billion in client assets and has processed more than $285 billion in trading volume. Its business spans retail and institutional services, an over-the-counter desk, a credit card and trading in major tokens including Bitcoin, Ethereum and stablecoins.

Financially, the company reported a net loss of $282.5 million on $68.6 million in revenue for the first half of 2025, widening from a $41.4 million loss a year earlier.

The Winklevoss twins, who first rose to prominence through their legal battle with Facebook, invested heavily in Bitcoin in the early 2010s and became known as the “Bitcoin twins.” Their bid to take Gemini public is testament to how deeply digital assets are now tied to Wall Street.

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According to the latest data from BitcoinTreasuries, the total amount of Bitcoin (BTC) held by public firms recently surpassed the one million mark, underscoring the rapid pace of adoption of the digital asset worldwide.

Bitcoin Adoption Shows No Signs Of Slowing

While corporate adoption of Bitcoin is not a novel practice, the trend gained significant momentum following US President Donald Trump’s victory in the November 2024 elections. Since then, several firms have unveiled BTC corporate treasury strategies.

Michael Saylor-led Strategy – formerly MicroStrategy – continues to be the undisputed leader of the trend, having some 636,000 BTC on its balance sheet at the time of writing. However, other companies like Metaplanet, Semler Scientific, and MARA Holdings have been busy increasing their BTC exposure over the past ten months.

Commenting on the development, BitcoinTreasuries President Pete Rizzo said that despite the total amount of BTC crossing one million, multiple indicators still show that institutional adoption of the digital asset is still in its infancy.

Rizzo referred to the fact that most companies have only recently started to accumulate BTC for the long haul. As a result, a major chunk of the capital raised by such firms remains yet to be deployed for BTC purchases.

Bradley Duke, Head of Europe at Bitwise, commented on the milestone saying that the total value of BTC locked in corporate treasuries is now worth more than $111 billion. He added:

The structural imbalance between BTC supply and demand is real and getting more pronounced.

Data from BitcoinTreasuries shows that currently, more than 100 companies hold BTC on their balance sheets. However, if recent developments are to go by, the corporate adoption of digital assets does not seem to be limited to BTC.

Recently, a number of companies have announced plans to adopt Ethereum (ETH) as part of their corporate treasury strategy. While ETH does not have a hard supply cap of 21 million like BTC, it does offer multiple use-cases and the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism which helps in reducing the active circulating supply of ETH.

Will Companies Pivot To ETH?

At present, BTC commands a total market cap of over $2 trillion, compared to Ethereum’s $518 billion market cap. Although there’s still a difference of almost $1.5 trillion, ETH is quickly closing in the gap.

For instance, asset manager VanEck CEO, Jan van Eck, recently called ETH the “Wall Street token,” saying that Ethereum’s role in facilitating stablecoin transactions will likely help it give strong competition to BTC.

Recent exchange-traded funds (ETF) data also supports the quiet institutional rotation from BTC to ETH, as ETH ETFs saw almost $4 billion in inflows during August 2025. At press time, BTC trades at $109,403, down 2.2% in the past 24 hours.

Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from and TradingView.com

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Hassan Shittu

Journalist

Hassan Shittu

About Author

Hassan, a Cryptonews.com journalist with 6+ years of experience in Web3 journalism, brings deep knowledge across Crypto, Web3 Gaming, NFTs, and Play-to-Earn sectors. His work has appeared in…

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September 2, 2025

Blockchain-based lender Figure Technology Solutions Inc. is preparing to go public this month in one of the most closely watched listings in the crypto-fintech sector.

The company and its backers are seeking to raise up to $526 million through an initial public offering, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

According to a Bloomberg report, Figure plans to sell 21.5 million shares priced between $18 and $20 each, while existing shareholders are offering an additional 4.9 million shares. At the top of that range, the firm would command a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, surpassing its $3.2 billion valuation from a 2021 venture round.

The company is expected to price its shares on September 10, with trading set to begin on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol FIGR. Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and Bank of America are leading the offering.

Figure IPO Follows Strong Revenue Growth and Blockchain Expansion

Founded in 2018 by Mike Cagney, the former chief executive of SoFi Technologies, Figure has positioned itself as a developer of blockchain-based solutions to streamline consumer lending.

The firm began with home equity line of credit (HELOC) products and has since expanded into crypto-backed loans and a digital asset exchange.

To date, it has originated or purchased more than $16 billion in loans on-chain. In August, the company increased its HELOC borrowing limit from $400,000 to $750,000 to capture a larger share of equity-rich homeowners.

Figure has also moved into artificial intelligence, using OpenAI’s technology to evaluate loan applications and Google’s Gemini chatbot to improve customer interactions.

According to its filing, customers for partner-branded HELOC loans in the first half of 2025 had a weighted average FICO score of 756, slightly higher than the 749 average for its own-branded loans.

The company’s growth trajectory has accelerated in 2025. For the six months ending June 30, Figure reported a net income of $29.1 million on revenue of $190.6 million, compared with a net loss of $15.6 million on $156 million in revenue during the same period last year.

Investors include Apollo Global Management, 10T Holdings, and Ribbit Capital. Despite the IPO, Cagney will continue to control a majority of the voting power, the filing shows.

Michael Tannenbaum, formerly with Brex and SoFi, was appointed CEO in 2024, tasked with guiding the company’s public market debut and scaling its blockchain-based lending products.

Beyond lending, Figure is pursuing regulatory approval for what it says could be the first U.S.-approved interest-bearing stablecoin structured as a security.

Figure’s offering follows a series of confidential filings earlier this year, with the company formally submitting its registration in mid-August.

Marketing presentations to investors emphasize its ability to pair blockchain efficiency with traditional financial rigor, noting cost reductions in loan origination and securitization.

In addition to loan products, Figure recently rolled out its Intellidebt solution, which has already helped customers pay off $133 million in debt by consolidating credit cards, auto loans, and personal loans into single payment structures.

Crypto IPO Rush Accelerates as Gemini and Circle Join Wall Street Frenzy

Crypto-linked companies are racing to public markets this fall, capitalizing on renewed investor appetite and favorable conditions in the U.S.

According to recent filings, Gemini Space Station, the parent of crypto exchange Gemini, founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is seeking up to a $2.22 billion valuation in its Nasdaq debut.

The New York-based firm plans to sell 16.67 million Class A shares at $17 to $19 each, potentially raising $317 million. Shares will trade under the ticker GEMI, with underwriters granted an option to buy an additional 2.5 million shares.

Ripple has backed Gemini’s listing with a $75 million credit facility, expandable to $150 million.

The surge in activity comes after Circle Internet Group’s successful market debut earlier this year, which more than doubled its value. It now boasts a $30 billion market cap.

The strong performance has fueled optimism that 2025 could mark a turning point for digital asset firms after years of regulatory and market headwinds.

Wall Street banks are fielding heightened demand from technology and crypto issuers. Goldman Sachs’ co-head of equity capital markets, Will Connolly, said firms are accelerating timelines, with some originally targeting 2026, now asking to move forward this year.

JPMorgan’s Keith Canton projects that dozens of IPOs could close before year-end, raising more than $15 billion.

Beyond traditional listings, crypto-focused special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are also entering the fray. Bitcoin Infrastructure Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands-based blank-check firm, filed to raise $200 million to target Web3, DeFi, and blockchain finance companies, listing on Nasdaq under the ticker BIXIU.

Other listings include Bullish, a Peter Thiel-backed exchange that raised $1.15 billion in its NYSE debut, entirely in stablecoins. Bullish joined Coinbase and Circle among the best-performing crypto IPOs of 2025, with Circle and CoreWeave delivering 336% and 132% returns, respectively.

With supportive policy shifts under the Trump administration and a buoyant risk environment, crypto IPOs are gaining momentum as firms rush to secure market share before year-end.

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China has taken another step into blockchain-based finance, but in a way that avoids direct involvement with cryptocurrencies.

A state-owned firm in Shenzhen has launched a digital bond offering on Ethereum, showing how the country is selectively embracing new technology while keeping its hard stance on crypto trading in place.

First State-Backed RWA Bond On Ethereum

According to reports, Futian Investment Holding completed a 500 million yuan issuance of offshore bonds on August 29.

The bonds, equal to nearly $70 million, were rolled out in Hong Kong and listed on the Ethereum blockchain. They carry a 2.62% annual interest rate and will expire in two years.

The company described the deal as part of an effort to expand its funding sources while also responding to the growing use of real-world assets and tokenization in global markets.

It also pointed to Hong Kong’s supportive policies as a factor in the decision, saying the bond aligns with the district’s push to attract digital asset innovation.

#UZX BREAKING NEWS #RWA

Futian Investment Holding Announces Issuance of the World’s First Public RWA Digital Bond on a Public Blockchain pic.twitter.com/E2sGIJZdwl

— UZX Official (@UZX_Official) September 2, 2025

Crypto Still Off-Limits At Home

The move does not mean that China has softened its ban on crypto or Ethereum. Back in 2021, Beijing imposed a full ban on crypto mining and trading.

Officials at the time said the measures were needed to control energy use and to guard against risks that might destabilize the country’s financial system.

BTCUSD trading at $110,388 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView

That ban remains in effect today. Ordinary citizens and companies in mainland China are still blocked from using or trading cryptocurrencies.

What is allowed, however, are limited experiments like tokenized bonds that stay within the bounds of traditional finance.

Hong Kong As A Testing Ground

By routing the deal through Hong Kong, Beijing can keep its domestic ban intact while still signaling that it wants exposure to blockchain-based finance.

The bustling metro has been given more room to try out digital asset projects, and this latest bond fits into that role.

China’s strategy delineates a clear split: blockchain as a tool for finance is embraced in regulated manifestations, while crypto as an unfettered market asset is still off-limits.

Stablecoins, particularly dollar-denominated stablecoins, have also attracted scrutiny in Beijing, with officials concerned that they can undermine other currencies based around the world.

Reports suggest this RWA bond may be the first in a series of state-backed blockchain and Ethereum financial products tied to Hong Kong.

For now, the issuance shows China’s intent to cautiously explore blockchain without reopening the door to Bitcoin, stablecoins, or wider crypto adoption.

Featured image from Agoda, chart from TradingView 

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

Connect the Electrum client

To connect to an Electrs server, you must use Electrum to point it to the server. ip_address:port syntax. You’ll notice that most default servers in Electrum use it 50002 Port (for SSL connections), while the electric service port 50001 Also, it does not provide SSL from the box.

You must use a web server to provide SSL (see SSL connection (below) or connect without SSL. To tell Electrum to connect to the server without SSL, you need to add it :t After the port (i.e.: localhost:50001:t). Please note that this is not secure and is recommended only for local connections.

Electrs listen by default 127.0.0.1:50001which means serving only clients on the local machine. this is, electrum_rpc_addr If you want to connect from a different machine with the settings, you will need to change it 0.0.0.0:50001. This is not safe and the recommended way to access electricity remotely is to keep listening 127.0.0.1 Tunnel to the server.