Cryptocurrency and AI-based initial public offerings last year reportedly caused all publicly traded U.S. stocks to underperform, underperforming the S&P 500, a tech-heavy index.
Bloomberg reported on Monday that the weighted average share price of all companies that went public last year, excluding closed-end funds and blank check companies, rose 13.9%, lagging the S&P 500’s 16% rise.
Last year, some of the crypto industry’s biggest companies went public as the Trump administration gave Wall Street the confidence to back crypto companies with billions of dollars. However, not all companies performed well.
Betting on artificial intelligence companies is also a gamble, with companies like data center developer Fermi and AI-powered expense platform Navan underperforming in their IPOs.
One of the biggest and best-performing crypto debuts was stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group (CRCL)’s $1.05 billion crypto debut in June, with an IPO price of $31 and a 170% jump in its stock price on its first day.
Since then, Circle’s stock price has slumped as Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen from its October high, and on December 31, the company’s stock closed at $79.30, below its debut day’s closing price. Circle is now down nearly 70% from its peak of over $263, closing at $84.80 on Monday.
The Winklevoss twins’ crypto exchange Gemini (GEMI) debuted in September and was one of the worst-performing crypto IPOs of 2025.
Gemini’s IPO price was $28 and it initially rose to a high of over $32.50, but by December 31st it had fallen 64.5% to $9.92. It had recovered slightly to $11.12 on Monday.
Gemini stock has fallen more than 65% since its IPO in September. sauce: Google Finance
The stock price of virtual currency exchange Blish (BLSH), which went public in August, rose only slightly. It started at $37, rose to close its first trading day at $68, but fell to $37.87, close to its IPO price, on December 31st.
2025 was a mixed year for public debuts.
Mike Belin, U.S. IPO leader at consulting firm PwC, told Bloomberg that last year was “obviously a mixed year for IPOs” as markets selectively reopened and the bar for early-stage tech companies rose significantly.
Related: Kraken IPO and M&A deal reignites crypto’s ‘mid-term’ cycle: Fund Manager
The report found that mid-sized IPOs underperformed larger IPOs, with deals priced between $500 million and $1 billion increasing their stock prices by a weighted average of 5.6%, while deals valued at $1 billion or more rose an average of 20%.
Last year’s biggest IPO was the $7.2 billion initial public offering of medical device provider Medline, whose stock has risen 40% since going public in mid-December. The second largest offering was a $1.75 billion offering by gas exporter Venture Global, which was cut 40% before going public, causing its stock to plummet 72%, making it one of the worst performers among debutants.
“The biggest takeaway is that we are firmly back in a fundamentals-driven market,” Belin said. “Investors are much more selective and companies need to enter the market with a clearer story and stronger operational direction.”
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