Bullish Bets $4.2B on Tokenized Securities With Equiniti Deal

Key Points

• Bullish agreed to acquire Equiniti in a $4.2 billion deal, using the transfer agent to help build infrastructure for tokenized securities. The transaction is expected to close in January 2027, pending regulatory approvals.
• Management said the combination would bring together the key pieces needed for tokenization at scale: Bullish’s blockchain technology, Equiniti’s ledger and issuer network, and the transfer agent role that can turn tokens into legal title rather than just receipts.
• Bullish outlined a bullish financial outlook, including about $1.3 billion of adjusted total revenue and roughly $500 million of adjusted EBITDA less CapEx for 2026, with longer-term growth driven by tokenization and blockchain services.

Bullish NYSE: BLSH said it has agreed to acquire Equiniti in a $4.2 billion transaction that management framed as a major step toward building infrastructure for tokenized securities.

On a conference call announcing the deal, Bullish Chief Executive Officer Tom Farley said the acquisition would combine Bullish’s blockchain and digital asset capabilities with Equiniti’s role as a global transfer agent serving thousands of public companies. Farley said Equiniti has more than 2,500 public market issuers on its client list, including approximately 35% of the S&P 500 and more than 50% of the FTSE 100.

“By acquiring Equiniti, we are assembling under one roof the three elements required for tokenization to become real at scale: the technology stack, the ledger infrastructure, and the issuer network,” Farley said.

Deal Terms and Timing

Chief Financial Officer Dave Bonanno said Bullish has agreed to acquire Equiniti for $4.2 billion, with closing anticipated in January 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

The consideration includes Bullish assuming Equiniti’s $1.85 billion in debt and issuing approximately 61 million new Bullish shares, valued at about $2.35 billion based on Bullish’s 30-day volume-weighted average price of $38.48 per share. Bonanno said Bullish expects to have approximately 222 million fully diluted shares outstanding after the transaction closes.

Bonanno said the company expects to maintain a net liquid asset position exceeding $500 million after closing at current Bitcoin price levels. He added that Bullish expects “approximately $1 billion of expected free cash flow over the medium-term outlook.”

Tokenization Strategy

Farley used much of the call to describe Bullish’s view that blockchain technology represents the next major evolution in market structure. He compared tokenization to the shift from paper-based trading to electronic markets, saying tokenized assets can provide always-on infrastructure, instant settlement and programmable corporate actions.

Farley said the global securities market is approximately $270 trillion and argued that tokenized securities remain in the early stages. He said non-stablecoin tokenized assets have grown by more than 50% since Bullish’s third-quarter earnings call, from roughly $20 billion to $30 billion, but remain small relative to global capital markets.

According to Farley, Bullish identified three requirements for large-scale adoption of tokenized securities: an end-to-end tokenization stack, a unified ledger connecting traditional finance and blockchain-based assets, and access to a broad base of public company issuers.

Farley said Equiniti brings the issuer relationships and transfer agent infrastructure that Bullish did not previously have. He said Equiniti has average client relationships of more than 15 years and processes $500 billion in issuer payments per year on behalf of customers.

Transfer Agent Role

Farley said transfer agents are central to tokenization because they maintain the official shareholder registry. He said tokenization works best when a token is not merely a receipt or synthetic exposure but reflects actual legal ownership.

“Without the transfer agent, a token is just a receipt. With the transfer agent, it becomes legal title,” Farley said.

Farley said Bullish and Equiniti have already collaborated on a unified ledger designed to track tokenized shares and certificated shares in real time. He said the ledger is intended to support ownership records, corporate actions, proxy voting and compliance through KYC and AML capabilities.

He also said Bullish’s board has approved tokenizing the company’s entire cap table of shares. Farley said investors would be able to withdraw tokens to a self-custodial wallet if they are whitelisted.

Financial Outlook

Bonanno said the combined 2026 outlook, excluding synergies, is expected to include $1.3 billion of adjusted total revenue and approximately $500 million of adjusted EBITDA less CapEx.

For the 2027 through 2029 period, Bonanno said Bullish expects total revenue growth to accelerate from approximately 6% to more than 8% compared with combined 2026 financials. He said that growth would be driven by approximately 20% growth in tokenization and blockchain services, while traditional transfer agent revenue and interest income are expected to be relatively flat.

Bonanno said the company expects $25 million to $50 million of additional cost takeout between 2027 and 2029 compared with the combined 2026 financial results. That reflects $50 million to $75 million of cost reductions offset by about $25 million of investment in new infrastructure and product offerings.

He said Bullish expects adjusted EBITDA less CapEx to grow nearly $100 million per year over the medium-term outlook period, with margins of approximately 50% exiting 2029. Bonanno also said the company expects EPS growth of approximately 20% per year and cumulative free cash flow of about $1 billion.

Regulatory and Adoption Questions

During the question-and-answer session, analysts asked about the pace of tokenization adoption, regulation and the competitive landscape. Farley said the timeline for adoption remains uncertain, but he argued that issuers are dissatisfied with current market infrastructure because of opacity, intermediaries and limited visibility into ownership and trading activity.

Asked about regulation, Farley said passage of the Clarity Act would be positive for adoption because it would help define “what is a security, what is a commodity” and provide rules of the road for regulated market participants. He cautioned that failure to pass a market structure bill could return the industry to a period of ambiguity.

Bonanno said Equiniti currently generates essentially no blockchain revenue, which Bullish sees as part of the opportunity. He also said Equiniti’s interest income is tied to float from payments it processes, with the float mix about two-thirds U.S. dollars and one-third pounds.

Farley said Bullish does not intend to become a primary listing venue like the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. Instead, he said the company intends to provide liquidity solutions and secondary trading on regulated venues, along with tokenization services for issuers.

About Bullish NYSE: BLSH

Bullish NYSE: BLSH is a company that develops and operates digital asset market infrastructure, including a cryptocurrency trading platform and related technology services. The firm's stated activities focus on providing exchange services, market structure and trading technology designed to support the listing, execution and clearing of digital assets. Bullish positions itself as a bridge between traditional capital markets practices and the evolving cryptocurrency ecosystem.

The business was announced in connection with Block.one, the software developer known for its work on the EOS blockchain, and was formed with the intent of creating a regulated, institutional-grade marketplace for digital assets.

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