Bullish Selects 3 Networks for Stock Tokenization After 61 Million-Share Transfer Demonstration
Key Facts
On November 3, 2026, Bullish announced that it had selected Solana, Aptos and Ethereum as initial partners for stock tokenization services, and said it would expand its work from Solana to the other two networks. The announcement places three networks within a single framework for issuer choice, rather than limiting the service to Ethereum or a single network. The company said support for Aptos and Ethereum alongside Solana would allow issuers to reach investors on networks they already use. It said the official ownership record would remain with the transfer agent, while the networks would be used to reach investors. The announcement follows a public demonstration of a transfer of tokenized shares via Solana at the New York Stock Exchange.
At an event hosted by Bullish and Equiniti at the New York Stock Exchange on October 27, Bullish CEO Tom Farley and Equiniti CEO Dan Kramer demonstrated the transfer of 61 million locked-up tokenized Bullish shares via Solana. The company said Equiniti managed the process and that the transfer was completed in seconds. The event provided a practical example of how a public network can work with a transfer agent responsible for managing the shareholder register. According to Bullish, this structure gives issuers options to reach investors across different networks while keeping the official ownership record with the transfer agent. The selection of initial partners followed that demonstration, as the company plans to expand its services from Solana to Aptos and Ethereum.
Thomas Cowan, Bullish's head of asset tokenization, said, "Supporting Aptos and Ethereum is the logical next step to meet market needs and sustain the sector's strong growth." The selection of the three networks reflects the company's effort to offer multiple options for issuers and investors, according to its statement. The announcement did not change the transfer agent's role in maintaining the official ownership record. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission defines a tokenized security as a financial instrument whose ownership record is maintained wholly or partly on one or more crypto networks. In the issuer-sponsored model described by the SEC, transferring the token across the network may transfer the security in the master securityholder file.
Bullish says tokenized shares may enable markets that operate around the clock, near-instant settlement, programmable corporate actions, real-time visibility into share ownership, and new ways to engage with and reward shareholders. These are potential features the company cites for the service, not outcomes all demonstrated by the transfer at the New York Stock Exchange. On August 12, 2026, Bullish announced that trading in its tokenized shares, BLSH, had begun on its platform, settled in a dollar-linked stablecoin. It said the tokens are issuer-backed and recorded in the shareholder register, and that holders directly own the shares and have legal standing comparable to traditional shareholders. It said at the time that trading operates around the clock with near-instant settlement, compared with the traditional T+1 settlement cycle.
In the U.S. market, an NYSE Arca proposal published in the Federal Register limits the shares eligible for tokenization in the pilot to Russell 1000 stocks and exchange-traded funds tracking major indexes. The proposal also states that trades processed by the Depository Trust Company, or DTC, will continue to settle on a T+1 cycle, and that the tokenization service will be offered on a pilot basis for 3 years after launch. This highlights a difference between the near-instant settlement capabilities Bullish describes for its platform and trades routed through DTC under the proposal. In its business, Bullish said tokenized BLSH shares began trading on its platform in the months following the launch of its stock tokenization on Solana. Bullish and Equiniti have also established the Issuer Sponsored Token Coalition, a non-exclusive working group.
The announced expansion is connected to Bullish's broader plan with Equiniti, which the company agreed to acquire in May 2026 in a deal valued at 4.2 billion dollars, with the aim of creating a platform covering the life cycle of a tokenized security. The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, while Bullish expects to complete it in January 2027. The October transfer demonstration and the plan to support three networks provide practical context for the project, while completion of the deal remains a subsequent step contingent on approvals. The company has described stock tokenization as a way to enable broader access across networks while keeping the shareholder register with the transfer agent. January 2027 remains the next milestone Bullish has announced for the Equiniti deal.