Bullish bets $4.2B on tokenized securities with Equiniti deal

Bullish has agreed to acquire Equiniti in a deal valued at about $4.2 billion, including debt. 

The transaction includes about $1.85 billion in assumed debt and roughly $2.35 billion in Bullish stock, according to a Reuters report.

The deal is expected to close in January 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. Equiniti is a global transfer agent that supports nearly 3,000 public companies, including Berkshire Hathaway, Moody’s and Rolls-Royce.

After the transaction, Bullish and Equiniti plan to offer tokenization services for corporate issuers. The planned services include 24/7 securities trading and stablecoin-based payment and settlement tools.

Transfer agents play a key role in public markets. They keep shareholder records, manage ownership changes, support dividend payments and handle investor communications. Bullish is seeking to link that role with tokenized securities infrastructure.

Bullish expands after public listing

Bullish went public in August 2025, joining a wider group of crypto firms entering public markets. As featured in our August 13, 2025 coverage, Bullish raised $1.1 billion in its NYSE debut and reached a valuation of $5.4 billion after pricing above expectations.

In our November 19, 2025 update, we covered Bullish’s record third-quarter results. The exchange posted a 71% year-over-year rise in adjusted revenue and launched crypto options trading and U.S. spot trading.

The Equiniti deal would push Bullish beyond exchange trading. It would give the company a direct link to corporate issuer services, shareholder records and securities workflows.

Tokenization competition grows

The deal comes as more firms test tokenized stocks and settlement products. As highlighted in our December article, Securitize planned to launch natively tokenized public stocks in early 2026, with shareholder rights, dividends and voting recorded onchain.

As we covered in February, MetaMask added access to more than 200 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs through Ondo Finance. The integration gave wallet users access to tokenized versions of assets such as Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA and Amazon.

Stablecoin settlement also remains part of the market buildout. As noted in our March coverage, Circle asked the European Union to widen access for stablecoin settlement and include crypto service providers in the EU DLT Pilot Regime.