On January 22, 2026, YZi Labs participated as a strategic investor in the strategic allocation of BitGo (NYSE: BTGO)'s IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, adding a layer of "compliance infrastructure bet" to the narrative of this digital asset custody company's listing. According to disclosed information, BitGo's IPO is priced at $18 per share, issuing approximately 11.8 million shares, with a fundraising target of up to $212 million. On the first day of trading, it opened with an increase of about 24.6%, corresponding to a valuation of approximately $2.59 billion. Coupled with its approximately $82 billion in custody assets and over 5,100 institutional clients, the scale of this event far exceeds that of a single company's financing. This IPO forcibly aligns "regulated digital asset infrastructure" with "Wall Street's primary market" on the same narrative line, but whether YZi's long-term intentions or external judgments on BitGo's valuation and growth potential, some key information remains from a single source or unverified, determining that this integration experiment must be observed and interpreted under cautious premises.
From Niche Custody to NYSE Main Character's Comeback
● Business Expansion: BitGo initially started as a digital asset custodian for institutions, addressing the seemingly marginal yet crucial foundational issue of "who securely holds the private keys." As institutional demand has evolved, its services have gradually extended to diversified sectors such as custody + staking + stablecoin issuance, ensuring asset security while managing yield distribution and on-chain liquidity, upgrading itself from a "back-end safe" to a compliance infrastructure platform that spans the entire asset lifecycle.
● Multi-Jurisdictional Trust Structure: In its development, BitGo has built a multi-jurisdictional trust structure, obtaining regulated custody and trust qualifications in places like the United States, enabling it to provide compliant custody services under different regulatory frameworks. This layout not only meets the rigid compliance operational needs of cross-border institutional clients but also lays the groundwork for its entry into traditional capital markets, making "custody companies listing on the NYSE" feasible from a regulatory perspective.
● Globalization: According to disclosed data, BitGo currently manages approximately $82 billion in digital assets, serving over 5,100 institutional clients in more than 100 countries, transforming it from a regional service provider into a global custody hub. Such scale means it is no longer just an infrastructure within the crypto circle but has substantially embedded itself into the operational links of global asset management institutions, trading platforms, and related financial service providers.
● Differentiated Positioning and Moat: In the crypto infrastructure sector, BitGo has chosen to focus on regulated custody and institutional-level services as its core selling points, clearly distinguishing itself from trading platform companies that are oriented towards trading volume and speculative activity. Its moat primarily comes from three aspects: multi-regional licenses and compliance experience, the trust threshold accumulated from serving large institutions, and the staking and product issuance capabilities that extend from custody, all of which provide realistic support for telling a "more defensively robust infrastructure story."
24.6% Surge on First Day: Valuation Experiment of Crypto Infrastructure
● Basic IPO Parameters: According to single-source information, BitGo's IPO is priced at $18 per share, issuing approximately 11.8 million shares, with a fundraising target of up to $212 million. This pricing range is not extreme from a traditional financial perspective; it resembles a compromise that retains a certain safety cushion while "giving growth space." For a crypto company centered on compliance infrastructure, completing this scale of public fundraising in the current macro environment is already a form of market validation.
● First Day Performance and Valuation Signals: BitGo's stock opened on the NYSE with an increase of about 24.6% from the issue price, corresponding to a company valuation of approximately $2.59 billion (according to a single source). This increase cannot be described as a frenzied speculation but is clearly stronger than a "tepid listing," more closely resembling Wall Street's tentative pricing for emerging assets with fundamental support. For compliance crypto infrastructure centered on custody, this performance releases an initial signal that traditional capital is willing to pay for "regulatory recognition + institutional demand."
● Management's Self-Narrative: During the IPO launch period, BitGo CEO Mike Belshe repeatedly emphasized the company's differentiated positioning in the crypto infrastructure field, highlighting its characteristics of being institution-focused, regulated, and having a multi-jurisdictional trust structure. This narrative strategy intentionally downplays the label of "speculative crypto company," packaging BitGo as "the clearing and custody foundation of the digital asset world," thereby conveying an image closer to a financial utility to traditional capital markets.
● Early Samples and Unverified Expectations: Some external analyses (according to a single source) view BitGo as a "quality asset" among the first batch of crypto-related IPOs in 2026, believing its current valuation is within a reasonable range while implying there is still room for revaluation in the future. Such views have raised expectations at the market sentiment level, but it should be emphasized that this belongs to a single debatable perspective, and judgments like "quality" and "reasonable valuation" are highly dependent on subsequent performance realization and regulatory environment evolution, currently remaining in a state of verification and should not be simply regarded as consensus.
YZi Bets on BitGo: Infrastructure Chips Rather Than Short-Term Arbitrage
● Strategic Allocation Identity and Information Boundaries: From publicly available facts, YZi Labs participated in BitGo's IPO as a strategic allocation, which itself implies a different role positioning compared to ordinary secondary market investors. It should be clarified that the specific investment amount, shareholding ratio, and other key figures for YZi have not been disclosed, and related information is explicitly marked as prohibited from speculation, so any detailed judgments about amounts and future returns must remain blank.
● Positioning as a Compliance Custody Hub (Unverified): In external statements, YZi regards BitGo as a key compliance custody hub in the integration process of global capital markets and digital asset infrastructure, emphasizing not a single business line but its hub role in the "traditional capital entry path." It should be noted that this statement is also within the range of verification, and whether it will materialize in subsequent cooperation, product linkage, or resource allocation still needs observation.
● Entry Timing and Long-Term Chips: Choosing to enter through strategic allocation during the IPO phase rather than relying entirely on secondary market purchases reflects YZi's greater emphasis on locking in long-term infrastructure chips rather than speculating on short-term price fluctuations. Strategic allocations typically come with longer relationship cycles and deeper collaborative expectations, meaning YZi's focus may be on BitGo's position evolution in the global custody, settlement, and institutional service network rather than the profit and loss of the first-day price increase.
● Post-Listing Strategic Resource Support (Unverified): The narrative mentions that YZi plans to support BitGo's global expansion through strategic resource collaboration after its listing, such as providing increments in product co-development, regional layout, or institutional client expansion. However, this plan is also currently within the range of unverified information, and specific forms, rhythms, and implementation levels have not been publicly disclosed. For observers, a more reasonable stance is to view it as a potential direction rather than an established fact.
Wall Street's Capital Probe: Pricing Logic of the Infrastructure Story
● Valuation Sample of "Regulated Custody + Infrastructure": Using BitGo as a sample, one can observe how traditional institutions price the "regulated custody + infrastructure" story. Its IPO pricing and the approximately 24.6% increase on the first day reflect Wall Street's willingness to pay a certain premium for assets characterized by "stable fee income + regulatory friendliness" in the current macro environment of cooling risk appetite. This contrasts with the previous complex attitudes towards high-volatility trading platforms or purely speculative narrative projects, indicating that capital is also undergoing structural migration within the crypto sector.
● Reference Value of the "Quality Asset" Label (Unverified): External analyses (single source) have referred to BitGo as a "quality asset with reasonable valuation" among the first batch of crypto IPOs in 2026, which has elevated market interest at the emotional level. However, it should be emphasized that this is merely a single analyst's position, with significant room for debate, and does not constitute a pricing anchor or equate to institutional consensus. For investors, it is more appropriate to view it as a thermometer of sentiment rather than a core basis for investment logic.
● Risk Differences with Speculative Crypto Companies: Compared to trading companies driven by trading volume, transaction fees, and proprietary earnings, the risk profile of custody and infrastructure companies like BitGo is clearly different. Their revenue is more derived from custody fees, service fees, and long-term contracts related to staking and asset issuance, resulting in relatively small performance fluctuations but a high dependence on regulatory environments and institutional client stickiness. Therefore, the valuation logic is closer to that of financial infrastructure or asset management service providers rather than "high-beta speculative targets."
● Key Variables for Valuation Sustainability: Starting from $82 billion AUM and over 5,100 institutional clients, this IPO indeed received a solid starting point, but whether the valuation can be sustained depends on several key variables: first, whether AUM and revenue growth rates remain stable in subsequent financial reports; second, whether regulatory rules in the U.S. and other major jurisdictions continue to lean towards compliant custody; third, whether it can expand a second growth curve in new businesses (such as staking and product issuance). These factors will directly impact whether the initial valuation is a temporary peak or a long-term revaluation starting point.
The Compliance Moat Battle in the Era of Heightened Regulation
● Tightening Regulation and Rising Custody Role: In the U.S. and multiple jurisdictions, crypto-related regulations are continuously tightening, with regulatory agencies increasingly strengthening requirements for asset security, client segregation, and anti-money laundering processes. Against this backdrop, the importance of regulated custody infrastructure has rapidly risen, becoming one of the prerequisites for institutions to enter the crypto asset field. BitGo's listing represents a role transition of "compliance custody" from a back-end supporting role to a front-end main character under this regulatory trend.
● Value of Multi-Trust Structures and Licenses: The multi-trust structure and regulated custody licenses built by BitGo enable it to provide compliant custody services to institutions in different regions, and these licenses have already become entry barriers. For large financial institutions, collaborating with service providers that have clear licensing paths and regulatory records is often the first step towards digital asset allocation. Therefore, BitGo occupies a first-mover position in "assuring institutions to enter the market."
● YZi's Bet as a Signal to the Sector: YZi's choice to bet on a compliance custody hub like BitGo at this time sends a clear signal to other crypto infrastructure projects—models that purely rely on trading prosperity and speculative heat are being replaced by infrastructure logic centered on compliance, custody, and settlement. For projects seeking long-term capital support, "regulatory friendliness + institutional service capability" is becoming a new key assessment indicator, rather than just user numbers or trading volume curves.
● Historical Confusion and Current Controversy: There have been old posts online that confused YZi Labs with Binance Labs, which sparked discussions in the community. However, based on current publicly available information, there has not been substantial public opposition or regulatory controversy regarding YZi's participation in BitGo's IPO. This also means that the debate surrounding YZi in this event remains more at the level of brand and historical recognition rather than regulatory or compliance issues specifically related to this investment behavior.
Compliance Custody Emerges: The Next Main Line of Crypto Infrastructure
BitGo's listing on the NYSE and YZi's participation as a strategic investor together constitute a symbolic milestone in the "crypto infrastructure moving towards mainstream capital markets." On one hand, BitGo showcased the commercial and compliance feasibility of regulated digital asset infrastructure to Wall Street with its $82 billion AUM, 5,100+ institutional clients, and an initial stock price surge of approximately 24.6%; on the other hand, YZi's bet embeds this event into a longer-term capital layout, highlighting the importance of "infrastructure chips" in the next phase of competitive dynamics.
Looking ahead, compliance custody, staking, and settlement are likely to become core tracks under the wave of institutionalization, with BitGo being just one of the first samples to enter the public market. The potential synergy between YZi and BitGo may bring new innovative spaces in product forms, regional expansion, and compliance practices, such as customized services around institutional asset allocation and cross-market custody and settlement solutions. However, it must be emphasized that key information regarding the depth of cooperation, resource investment methods, and specific business plans between the two parties still awaits further disclosure and verification.
For readers and market participants interested in this event, a more pragmatic observation path is to continuously track BitGo's quarterly financial reports, regulatory event progress, and the situation of new institutional clients after its listing, and compare it with the current valuation level of approximately $2.59 billion to determine whether this IPO represents a peak driven by short- to medium-term sentiment or the starting point of Wall Street re-evaluating compliance infrastructure.
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