Bullish Trading Tokenised Shares on Own Regulated Venue as Revenue Jumps 62 Per Cent to $92.6M
Updated: 6 days ago
A profitable digital asset exchange putting its own shares onto a blockchain is a small operational milestone dressed up as a big signal, and this week Bullish gave UK founders watching the tokenised equity space a live example of what eating your own cooking looks like at listed company scale.
Bullish, the digital asset exchange that listed on the New York Stock Exchange in August 2025, reported second quarter adjusted revenue of 92.6 million dollars, up 62 per cent year on year, with subscription, services and other revenue reaching a record 62.7 million dollars. Alongside the results, the company confirmed that its own tokenised shares have begun trading on a regulated venue for the first time, after Bullish received approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission for tokenised securities, making it one of the first fully regulated venues to offer secondary trading in issuer sponsored tokenised securities.
Management were candid that the shift will not move the needle financially in 2026. Chief executive Tom Farley said tokenised securities trading is unlikely to lift 2026 results materially and should become a genuine 2027 contributor, while the company narrowed its full year guidance for subscription, services and other revenue to a range of 225 to 245 million dollars with the midpoint unchanged.
The more interesting signal for UK observers is sequencing. Bullish chose to tokenise and list its own equity on a regulated secondary venue before building out a broader tokenised securities offering for issuers, effectively using itself as the proof of concept. Farley pointed to the nearly 300 trillion dollar global securities market moving onto public blockchains as the long term opportunity, with the company's pending Equiniti acquisition intended to round out a full stack offering spanning issuance, listing, trading and tracking of tokenised securities.
For UK platforms and advisers building tokenised equity infrastructure for early stage companies, the lesson is less about the revenue number and more about the discipline. Regulators responded to a regulated, single issuer pilot faster than to a multi issuer platform pitch, a sequencing question UK SEIS and PISCES focused platforms are quietly working through with the FCA too.
Key Takeaways
Bullish reported 92.6 million dollars in adjusted Q2 revenue, up 62 per cent year on year, and confirmed its own shares are now trading tokenised on a Gibraltar regulated venue.
Management does not expect tokenised trading to be financially material until 2027, tempering the near term commercial case.
The company is using its own listing as a proof of concept ahead of a broader issuer facing tokenised securities offering, backed by its pending Equiniti acquisition.
The sequencing, regulator approval for a single issuer pilot before a multi issuer platform, mirrors questions UK tokenised equity platforms are working through with the FCA.
How Bullish got here
Bullish priced its initial public offering on 12 August 2025 at 37 dollars a share, selling 30 million ordinary shares, and its stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BLSH on 13 August 2025. The second quarter 2026 results followed almost exactly a year later, on 13 August 2026, covering the three months to 30 June.
The growth came from the non trading side of the business. Adjusted transaction revenue rose to 29.9 million dollars from 24.1 million dollars a year earlier, while subscription, services and other revenue reached 62.7 million dollars. Adjusted EBITDA rose to 29.5 million dollars from 8.1 million dollars. On a reported IFRS basis the picture is different: Bullish recorded a net loss of 280.0 million dollars for the quarter, against net income of 108.3 million dollars in the same period of 2025, and digital asset sales fell to 32.6 billion dollars from 58.6 billion dollars. The 225 to 245 million dollar range in the refined 2026 guidance applies to subscription, services and other revenue, a non IFRS measure, rather than to total revenue.
The issuer side of the plan rests on Equiniti. In May 2026 Bullish agreed to buy the transfer agent from private equity firm Siris in a transaction valued at about 4.2 billion dollars, made up of roughly 1.85 billion dollars of assumed debt and about 2.35 billion dollars in Bullish stock. Equiniti serves nearly 3,000 issuer clients and more than 20 million shareholders. Siris is expected to take two board seats, and the deal is subject to regulatory approvals.
What it means for UK founders
The Equiniti deal shows where the weight of tokenised equity sits: with the register, not the token. A transfer agent already keeps the legal record of who owns which shares, and that record is the question any tokenised share has to answer. For a UK private company, the equivalent record is the statutory register of members under the Companies Act 2006, and a token that does not reconcile to it gives holders little.
On trading, UK founders have two regulated routes to watch. PISCES, the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System overseen by the FCA, allows private company shares to trade in periodic auction windows. The Digital Securities Sandbox, run by the Bank of England and the FCA, lets firms test blockchain based trading and settlement under modified rules. Neither is a shortcut, and both reward the kind of narrow, well documented pilot Bullish ran with its own shares.
Founders with SEIS or EIS backed shareholders should note that any new wrapper or secondary trading route can interact with relief conditions, so founders may want to take professional advice before shares move onto a new venue.
Key facts at a glance
IPO priced on 12 August 2025 at 37 dollars a share; NYSE trading as BLSH began on 13 August 2025.
Q2 2026 adjusted revenue of 92.6 million dollars, against 57.0 million dollars in Q2 2025.
Q2 2026 adjusted EBITDA of 29.5 million dollars; IFRS net loss of 280.0 million dollars.
Tokenised securities approval granted by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission.
Equiniti acquisition valued at about 4.2 billion dollars, expected to close in early 2027.
2026 guidance for subscription, services and other revenue: 225 to 245 million dollars.
Further reading
Frequently asked questions
What revenue did Bullish report for Q2 2026?
Bullish reported second quarter adjusted revenue of 92.6 million dollars, up 62 per cent year on year. Subscription, services and other revenue reached a record 62.7 million dollars.
Where are Bullish's tokenised shares trading?
Bullish's own tokenised shares have begun trading on a regulated venue after the company received approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission for tokenised securities. That makes it one of the first fully regulated venues to offer secondary trading in issuer sponsored tokenised securities.
When will tokenised securities trading contribute to Bullish's results?
Chief executive Tom Farley said tokenised securities trading is unlikely to lift 2026 results materially and should become a genuine contributor in 2027. Bullish narrowed its full year guidance for subscription, services and other revenue to 225 to 245 million dollars, with the midpoint unchanged.
How does the Equiniti acquisition fit Bullish's tokenisation plans?
Bullish is using its own tokenised listing as a proof of concept before offering tokenised securities to other issuers. The pending Equiniti acquisition is intended to round out a full stack offering spanning issuance, listing, trading and tracking of tokenised securities.
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