BitGo's Rising Revenue Conceals Ongoing Profitability Challenges

BitGo, a prominent provider of digital asset custody solutions, has submitted paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), marking a significant move toward becoming a publicly-listed company. The company intends for its Class A common shares to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker "BTGO". According to the filing, BitGo reported $4.19 billion in revenue for the first half of 2025, nearly four times the $1.12 billion earned during the same timeframe in 2024. This notable increase highlights the rising institutional demand for crypto custody services, with BitGo now overseeing more than $90 billion in digital assets for 1.14 million users.

The IPO document details a dual-class share system, where Class B shareholders—primarily founder and CEO Mike Belshe—are granted 15 votes per share, while Class A shareholders receive just one vote each. This arrangement ensures that Belshe maintains control after the IPO, qualifying the company as a "controlled company" under the NYSE’s regulations. BitGo plans to allocate the IPO proceeds toward advancing technology, pursuing acquisitions, providing stock-based incentives, and boosting market exposure and financial agility.

and have been appointed as the primary underwriters for the IPO.

Despite the jump in revenue, BitGo's profitability has declined. Net income dropped to $12.6 million for the first half of 2025, compared to $30.9 million a year earlier, largely due to increasing operating expenses. These results illustrate the difficulties of expanding infrastructure for institutional customers while trying to preserve margins. The company’s holdings remain heavily weighted toward major cryptocurrencies, with

, Sui, , , and making up 48.5%, 20.1%, 5.7%, 3.9%, and 3.0% of the platform’s assets, respectively, as of June 30, 2025.

This IPO is part of a broader movement of crypto companies seeking public listings to benefit from growing institutional interest. BitGo’s step comes after successful public launches from firms such as Circle and Gemini, signaling strong investor enthusiasm for the sector. The company’s entry to the public markets adds further momentum to the revitalized U.S. IPO landscape, with $7 billion raised across 14 offerings in October 2025 alone—the most active month since 2020. Analysts point out that this trend highlights crypto’s evolution from a speculative segment to a mainstream asset category, supported by clearer regulations and ETF inflows.

Currently, BitGo’s platform secures $90.3 billion in digital assets for more than 4,600 institutional clients, including asset managers and cryptocurrency funds. The firm’s assets under custody have increased from $30.8 billion in 2024 to over $100 billion in 2025, mirroring the sector’s $4 trillion surge. Still, critics note BitGo’s dependence on a limited range of tokens and the inherent risks of market swings. Bobby Ong from CoinGecko commented, “Only $12 million in profit from $4 billion in revenue—such slim margins. Revenue grew by $3 billion, yet profits were cut by more than half. I don’t quite understand why.”

The IPO comes amid Federal Reserve interest rate cuts that have boosted liquidity, prompting more companies to go public. BitGo’s listing is anticipated to further validate the crypto custody industry, as both investors and regulators increasingly recognize digital assets as their own asset class. While the company’s dual-class shares and profitability issues may attract scrutiny, its critical role in safeguarding institutional crypto assets positions it as a major force in the industry’s transformation.