Bullish

What Bullish does

Bullish is an institutionally focused global digital asset exchange that operates a regulated spot and derivatives trading platform across more than 50 jurisdictions. Founded in 2021 by Block.one co-founder Brendan Blumer with backing from Peter Thiel, Bullish went public on the NYSE under ticker BLSH in August 2025 at $37 per share. The company serves professional trading firms, hedge funds, asset managers, token projects, and corporate treasuries through relationship managers and an API-first product available via REST and FIX protocols.

The core technology combines a high-performance central limit order book (CLOB) matching engine with a proprietary automated market maker (AMM) that converts customer asset liquidity into thousands of bids and offers on the order book, independent of external oracles. Bullish operates as a full-reserve exchange with 1:1 customer asset segregation, daily reconciliations, and a multi-layer custody architecture leveraging BitGo and Fireblocks. The company holds a top-tier regulatory footprint including NYDFS, FinCEN MSB, BaFin MiCAR authorization, GFSC DLT license, and Hong Kong SFC Types 1, 7, and VATP licenses, audited under SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type 1 by Deloitte. Beyond core trading, Bullish owns CoinDesk (digital asset media, Consensus conference, CoinDesk Indices, and CoinDesk Data), operates Bullish Capital for venture investments, and is pursuing tokenized securities infrastructure through a pending $4.2 billion acquisition of Equiniti.

The business model generates revenue primarily from exchange trading fees (zero maker fees and 0-0.03% taker fees on spot; derivatives fees from options, futures, and 40+ perpetuals), subscription-based token listing and liquidity services with volume-conditional monthly fees, AMM instruction fees from spreads and dynamic price adjustments, and CoinDesk media and indices revenue. Q1 2026 adjusted revenue was $92.8 million (up 49% YoY) with a 38% adjusted EBITDA margin. The customer base is anchored by named institutional counterparties including SoFi Technologies, Societe Generale, Solana Foundation, Cardano Foundation, Flow Traders, B2C2, Wintermute, BitGo, Fireblocks, and Ripple Prime. Stock has declined approximately 72% from IPO opening price amid broader crypto market weakness, trading near the 52-week low of $21.76.

Name

Bullish

Legal name

Bullish Global

Website

https://bullish.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Bullish is a regulated global digital asset exchange serving institutional clients across 50+ jurisdictions with spot and derivatives trading, proprietary AMM technology, CoinDesk media, and a pending $4.2B Equiniti acquisition to build tokenized securities infrastructure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cryptocurrency Exchange

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210), Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231), Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation (523150), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Liquidity Aggregation & Smart Order Routing (FSADAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cross-Margin, Portfolio Margin & Risk Engine Providers (FSADAGAH), Cross-Venue Arbitrage & Latency Infrastructure (FSADAJAK)

Keywords

• Institutional crypto exchange
• Digital asset trading
• Automated market making
• Crypto derivatives platform
• Tokenized securities infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Exchange Trading Fees: Maker fees (currently $0 for all spot markets) and 0-0.03% taker fees on spot trading. Derivatives trading fees generated from options, futures, and perpetual contracts trading.
2. Token Listing & Liquidity Services: Integrated token listing and market making services combining tier-one regulated exchange listing with institutional liquidity provision and CoinDesk marketing ecosystem access. Charges monthly fees conditional on exchange volume traded.
3. AMM Instruction Fees: Revenue from trading fees, spreads, and dynamic price adjustments when trades are matched against AMM instruction bids and offers placed by liquidity providers.
4. CoinDesk Ecosystem: Revenue from CoinDesk media, events (Consensus conference), indices licensing, and data products serving institutional and retail audiences with 7.8M+ global following.
5. Q1 2026 Financials: Adjusted revenue of $92.8 million (up 49% YoY), adjusted EBITDA of $35.1 million at 38% margin, and adjusted net income of $20.3 million.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Bullish operates a regulated, institutional-grade global digital asset exchange offering spot and derivatives trading with deep, predictable liquidity generated by combining a high-performance central limit order book (CLOB) matching engine with a proprietary automated market maker (AMM). Beyond trading, the company delivers integrated Token Services for token listing, liquidity provision, and distribution; institutional Derivatives (options, perpetuals, futures); multi-layer Custody with 1:1 asset segregation; CoinDesk Indices (CD20, CD80, CD100, CDMEME); CoinDesk Media & Data; and Bullish Capital venture investments.

Product overview

Bullish is an institutionally focused global digital asset platform offering a comprehensive suite of products spanning trading, tokenization infrastructure, and information services. The core offering centers on Bullish Exchange, an institutional-grade digital assets spot and derivatives trading platform combining a high-performance central limit order book matching engine with proprietary automated market making (AMM) to provide deep, predictable liquidity. Supporting services include Token Services for integrated token listing, liquidity provision, and distribution; Custody with industry-leading security architecture; and CoinDesk Indices providing benchmark indices including CD20, CD80, CD100, and CDMEME. The subsidiary CoinDesk division provides digital asset media (coindesk.com), market data analytics, and Consensus events. Bullish Capital handles venture investments. The company is pursuing tokenized securities infrastructure through its $4.2 billion Equiniti acquisition, pending regulatory approval.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CoinDesk: Leading provider of digital asset media and information services, including CoinDesk Indices, CoinDesk Data, and CoinDesk Insights/Events. Operates the consensus conference.
• CoinDesk Data
• CoinDesk Indices
• Bullish Capital

Products and services

• Bullish Exchange Institutionally focused digital assets spot and derivatives exchange that combines a high-performance central limit order book (CLOB) matching engine with automated market making to provide deep and predictable liquidity. Available in 50+ jurisdictions, consistently top three for BTC and ETH volume, and NYSE-listed. Features spot trading, margin trading, and auto-borrow/auto-repay functionality.
• Bullish AMM (Automated Market Maker) Proprietary AMM that converts liquidity exclusively available on Bullish in the form of Automated Market Making Instructions into thousands of bids and offers, evolving and improving upon the constant product market maker model (xy=k). Customers receive AMM payments through trading fees, spreads, and dynamic price adjustments when trades are matched against their bids and offers.
• Token Services Integrated token listing and market building solution combining a tier-one regulated exchange listing and distribution channel with consistent institutional liquidity and marketing reach through the CoinDesk ecosystem. Includes integrated token listing, 0-to-1 liquidity via proprietary technology combining a global aggregated CLOB with AMM capabilities, and marketing amplification through CoinDesk Research, media, and Consensus events.
• Bullish Derivatives Institutional-grade crypto derivatives including Options (4 dailies, 3 weeklies, 3 monthlies and 4 quarterlies with a wide range of strikes), Perpetuals (40+ perpetual contracts including the CoinDesk 20 index), and Futures. Operated by Bullish Group in Gibraltar, regulated by GFSC, and available to eligible institutional clients in 20+ jurisdictions.
• Custody Industry-leading security and velocity custody architecture maximizing security of assets through multi-layer protection (cold custody, offline cold key storage, multi-signature wallets), faster deposits/withdrawals, and segregation of assets. Operates as a full-reserve exchange maintaining a 1:1 ratio of customer assets with daily reconciliations, and does not lend out customer assets.
• CoinDesk Indices Collection of tradable proprietary and single-asset benchmarks and indices that track the performance of digital assets for global institutions. Includes CD20 (CoinDesk 20), CD80 (CoinDesk 80), CD100 (CoinDesk 100), and CDMEME (CoinDesk MEME) indices.
• CoinDesk (Media, Data, and Events) Leading provider of digital asset media and information services. Includes CoinDesk Media (news and insights at coindesk.com with 7.8M+ global following), CoinDesk Data (digital asset market data and analytics connected to over 300 exchanges), and Consensus (flagship Web3 conference with 26,000+ registrations from 100+ countries in 2025).
• Bullish Closing Cross First daily closing auction for spot Bitcoin designed to establish a deterministic daily closing price for BTC/USDC, targeting institutional investors, ETFs, and index funds, with the auction held daily at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
• WTI Perpetual WTI perpetual contract launched by Bullish to provide institutional hedging against oil supply shocks, addressing a structural gap in the market.

Quantifiable outcome

• Second-largest BTC options platform by open interest reaching $6 billion
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• SoFi TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 June 2026Bullish became first centralized exchange to list SoFiUSD, the US dollar stablecoin issued by SoFi Bank N.A. Partnership bridges traditional banking and digital assets into institutional markets, providing regulated venue access to bank-issued stablecoins.
• EquiniticoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2026$4.2 billion acquisition combining Bullish's blockchain infrastructure with Equiniti's transfer agent operations serving 3,000+ public companies, 20 million shareholders, processing $500 billion in annual payments. Expected to close January 2027.
• MezocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 April 2026Bullish deployed 250 BTC into Mezo's institutional-grade bitcoin yield vaults built in partnership with Anchorage Digital Bank. Mezo Prime enables corporate treasuries to earn protocol yield or use BTC as collateral.
• Ripple PrimecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 April 2026Expanded integration giving Ripple Prime institutional clients direct access to trade BTC options on Bullish's regulated platform. RLUSD stablecoin now usable as collateral through existing sub-accounts without additional KYC requirements.
• SoFi Big Business BankingstrategicChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 2 April 2026Part of SoFi's enterprise ecosystem enabling companies to manage fiat and crypto banking. Bullish provides trading, liquidity, and asset custody for enterprise clients using SoFi's regulated banking platform.
• BitGocoreTechnology or IntegrationCustody partnership leveraging BitGo's qualified custodian and regulated trust company services. BitGo has been a pioneer in crypto custody since 2013.
• FireblockscoreTechnology or IntegrationDigital asset custody, transfer and settlement technology partner. Fireblocks is first company certified as Cryptocurrency Security Standard (CCSS) Level 3 Qualified Service Provider.
• Sui FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBullish joined Hashi protocol institutional coalition for Bitcoin-backed lending using multi-party computation custody and ERC-3643 identity-aware tokens. Hashi enables BTC to serve as DeFi collateral.
• Circle Internet GroupcoreTechnology or IntegrationBullish offers USDC stablecoin trading and integration. Circle's USDC operates on Bullish's platform with major ARK Invest investment positioning in both companies.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Coinbase: Largest US-regulated crypto exchange offering spot and derivatives trading to institutional and retail clients. Directly comparable to Bullish on regulated venue positioning, US licensing (NYDFS), and institutional custody, though with a much larger retail footprint.
• Kraken: Global crypto exchange with deep spot and derivatives markets and strong institutional services. Comparable to Bullish on multi-jurisdictional licensing, institutional focus, and a regulated full-reserve custody architecture.
• Binance: World's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, operating spot and derivatives venues globally. Comparable to Bullish on CLOB-based trading across BTC and altcoins, though with broader retail reach and a different regulatory posture.
• OKX: Top-tier global crypto exchange with extensive spot, derivatives, and options products. Directly comparable on the BTC options franchise (Bullish surpassed OKX in open interest) and on cross-asset derivatives scale.
• Bybit: Derivatives-heavy global crypto exchange with leading perpetual futures market share. Comparable to Bullish on institutional derivatives and options offerings, though differentiated by heavier retail/leveraged product mix.
• Bitfinex: Long-standing institutional-grade crypto exchange known for deep liquidity and derivatives. Closely comparable to Bullish on institutional focus, advanced order types, and peer-to-peer liquidity provision.
• Crypto.com: Regulated global crypto exchange with spot, derivatives, and a payments/app ecosystem. Comparable to Bullish on multi-jurisdictional regulatory footprint and institutional-grade custody, with broader consumer-facing distribution.
• Gemini: US-regulated, compliance-led crypto exchange and custodian serving institutional and retail clients. Comparable to Bullish on regulatory-first positioning and SOC-audited custody, with overlapping institutional clients in TradFi.
• Galaxy Digital: Institutional crypto trading, asset management, and infrastructure firm. Comparable to Bullish on institutional crypto trading, derivatives, and capital-markets services, with an overlapping institutional client base.

Broad incumbents

• CME Group: Largest traditional derivatives exchange, which has aggressively expanded crypto futures and options. A broad incumbent competitor in BTC options (which Bullish surpassed on open interest) and a benchmark venue for institutional hedging.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Bullish
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bullishinc

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments7 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bullish