Well, it’s been quite a week for crypto companies making their way onto the public markets. Maybe it’s a sign of something bigger, or maybe it’s just a good couple of days. Hard to say for sure.

Gemini’s Strong Start

Crypto exchange Gemini finally made its Nasdaq debut on Friday. The company hit a valuation of $4.4 billion, which is nothing to sneeze at. Shares started trading under the ticker GEMI and were sitting around $34 by the afternoon—up more than 22% from the opening price.

Founded back in 2014, Gemini was one of the first to get a New York BitLicense. It raised $425 million through the IPO, and from what regulators filed, demand was pretty strong. Reuters said the offering was oversubscribed.

But it hasn’t all been smooth. There’s some tension between the Winklevoss twins and Brian Quintenz, who’s been nominated to chair the CFTC. Quintenz posted screenshots of texts with Tyler Winklevoss from July, suggesting Gemini was trying to influence him around a complaint the company filed about the regulator.

It’s messy. Gemini already settled a lawsuit with the CFTC for $5 million earlier this year. Then in June, their lawyers said the agency never should have pursued the case in the first place. Quintenz claims that after he didn’t play along, they tried to pause his confirmation.

And of course, some folks are questioning his motives—his current firm, Andreessen Horowitz, has a major stake in Coinbase, which is basically Gemini’s biggest rival.

Figure Makes a Move

Gemini wasn’t the only one. Crypto lender Figure also went public on Thursday, under the ticker FIGR. Their shares popped 24%, and the company was valued at around $5.3 billion.

By Friday closing, shares were near $33.50—well above the $25 IPO price. The company tweeted that the IPO showed how blockchain can make capital markets faster and more transparent. CEO Michael Tannenbaum told Decrypt they’re trying to show Wall Street how tokenization can create more efficient markets.

Speaking of tokenization—it’s getting a lot of attention lately. Rumor has it Blackrock is looking into tokenizing more of its ETFs, not just the BUIDL fund. That could mean trillions flowing into tokenized assets. Even Nasdaq is interested, having asked the SEC about allowing tokenized stocks on its exchange.

Coinbase and the Missing Texts

In other regulatory news, Coinbase is making noise about the SEC again. The exchange claims the agency caused “irreparable harm” by destroying documents from when Gary Gensler was chair.

Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, pointed to a report from the SEC’s own Inspector General that found nearly a year of Gensler’s texts were permanently deleted. Coinbase has been trying to get internal SEC docs for a while through FOIA requests. Now they say they have proof the records are gone.

Quick Takes

GameStop reported a Q2 loss, though not as bad as some expected. The company noted its Bitcoin holdings—worth $500 million—grew to $528 million by end of quarter.

Over in Japan, Bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet wants to raise $1.45 billion to buy more BTC. They cited Japan’s national debt, negative interest rates, and a weak yen as reasons for stacking more bitcoin.

All in all,