Bullish Tracks 61 Million Tokenized Shares and Selects 3 Networks for New Services
Key Facts
On November 3, 2026, Bullish announced that it had selected Solana, Aptos and Ethereum as initial partners for its stock tokenization services, and said it plans to expand from its work on Solana to the other two networks. The announcement followed a demonstration of the transfer of 61 million reserved tokenized Bullish shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange, at an event hosted by the company and Equiniti on October 27. Bullish said the transfer, managed by Equiniti through Solana, was completed in seconds. The company aims to broaden its network options to provide access to investors on the networks they use, while the official ownership register remains with the transfer agent. Its plan therefore combines broader digital access channels with keeping the shareholder register with the registrar.
Bullish CEO Tom Farley and Equiniti CEO Dan Kramer demonstrated the transfer of the 61 million shares during the October 27 event at the New York Stock Exchange. Bullish described the shares as its reserved tokenized shares and said Equiniti managed the process, which was completed in seconds. During the same demonstration, Farley also showed a digital card for the Consensus event being delivered directly to the wallet of a tokenized shareholder. The company presented this as an example of how shareholders could be rewarded on-chain, alongside transfers of shares between wallets. Thomas Cowan, Bullish's head of tokenization, said Solana provided a foundation for tokenizing the company's shares and that the NYSE demonstration showed issuers what this looks like in practice. He added that support for Aptos and Ethereum was the next step in keeping pace with the market and continuing the sector's growth.
The technical demonstration of reserved shares differs from the start of actual trading in tokenized Bullish shares on its platform. On August 12, 2026, the company said several participants had executed trades in tokenized BLSH shares, settled in a dollar-linked stablecoin. It said the tokens were issuer-backed and recorded at the shareholder-register level, and that holders directly owned the shares and had a legal standing equivalent to that of traditional shareholders. The company said trading on its platform operates around the clock with near-instant settlement, compared with the traditional T+1 cycle in equity markets. That earlier launch provides context for the October demonstration: trading began on the Bullish platform in August, while the New York demonstration focused on transferring tokenized shares and the role of the transfer agent.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission describes the tokenization of securities as a method of recording ownership of a financial instrument, in whole or in part, on one or more crypto networks. In a statement issued on January 28, 2026, the SEC distinguished between securities tokenized by the issuer or its agent and securities tokenized by a third party unaffiliated with the issuer. It said a token in the third-party model may not represent an ownership interest in the underlying security or a contractual obligation of its issuer. It also warned that some such tokens may not give holders shareholder rights and may expose them to third-party risks. The Bullish model announced links shares to the shareholder register, and the company says the official ownership register remains with the transfer agent.
Regulatory treatment is developing alongside these initiatives. On September 17, 2026, the SEC granted a temporary, conditional exemption for tokenized securities trading platforms, allowing NMS stocks to trade through licensed consolidated trading mechanisms, and invited public comment. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the exemption allows some tokenized stocks to trade on-chain within a licensed environment while the commission considers whether further steps are needed. According to a Reuters report, the exemption's rules require companies to be notified before tokens representing their shares are listed, and prohibit offering them if the issuer objects. The report says the rules do not allow synthetic tokens that provide exposure to a stock through a derivative or another product. It also reported that shares tokenized under the exemption must carry the same rights and privileges as traditional securities, including receiving distributions and exercising voting rights.
In a separate move, the New York Stock Exchange and Blockchain.com announced on September 23, 2026, that they were collaborating to explore creating tokens representing exchange-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds. The countries where the products would be sold had not been announced at the time, according to a Reuters report. The report noted that blockchain-based stock tokens rarely give buyers the same rights as traditional shares, and that buyers typically do not become shareholders in the underlying company, raising investor-protection concerns. These issues underscore the importance of distinguishing issuer-backed share models from third-party products. In an NYSE Arca proposal published in the Federal Register, eligible assets are limited to Russell 1000 stocks and exchange-traded funds tracking major indexes. The proposal states that trades processed by the Depository Trust Company (DTC) will continue to settle on a T+1 cycle, and that the pilot program will run for 3 years after launch.
Bullish links the expansion of its tokenization services to its planned acquisition of Equiniti, which the company agreed to buy in May 2026 for $4.2 billion. Bullish said Equiniti records ownership for about 3,000 listed companies, supports more than 20 million shareholders and processes about $500 billion in payments annually. The company's SEC filing details the consideration: assuming $1.85 billion of Equiniti debt and issuing about 61 million new Bullish shares. It valued the shares at about $2.35 billion based on the 30-day volume-weighted average price of $38.48 per share. Bullish said the 61 million BLSH shares allocated for tokenization are sufficient to complete the acquisition, with the final number issued to be determined at closing under the merger agreement. The company expects to complete the deal in January 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.