Bullish narrows Q2 loss as revenue rises

Bullish reported a $280 million net loss for the second quarter of 2026, while its growing subscription and services business helped cushion a sharp decline in digital asset sales. The loss narrowed from $604.9 million in the first quarter, and adjusted revenue rose 62% from a year earlier to $92.6 million, according to the company’s Thursday earnings release.

The results place Bullish’s non-trading revenue at the center of its financial story as cryptocurrency market activity cools. Subscription, services and other revenue reached a record $62.7 million in the quarter, exceeding the company’s reported digital asset sales figure and reducing its reliance on transaction-driven income.

Digital asset sales fell 44% quarter over quarter to $32.6 billion, from $58.6 billion in the first three months of 2026. Bullish attributed the changing revenue mix to weaker trading activity during the period, while higher recurring revenue supported a rise in adjusted EBITDA to $29.5 million from $8.1 million in the prior quarter.

Recurring revenue takes a larger role

Bullish updated its full-year 2026 outlook for subscription, services and other revenue to between $225 million and $245 million. The company projected adjusted operating expenses of $225 million to $230 million and finance expenses of $52 million to $60 million.

The guidance suggests Bullish expects its fee-based and service operations to carry more weight even if cryptocurrency trading conditions remain uneven. Trading venues tend to experience volatile volumes as asset prices, market sentiment and liquidity shift, leaving companies with transaction-heavy models exposed to abrupt changes in activity.

A larger subscription and services operation would give Bullish a more predictable source of revenue than sales linked directly to digital asset trading. The company did not break out the individual components behind the $62.7 million figure in the information provided, but described the result as a quarterly record.

Adjusted EBITDA, a measure of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization that excludes certain items, increased despite the quarterly net loss. The difference illustrates the extent to which non-cash charges, financing costs and other expenses can affect reported results for a public company pursuing large acquisitions and holding substantial digital asset reserves.

Equiniti deal remains scheduled for early 2027

Bullish also reaffirmed that its proposed acquisition of Equiniti, valued at $4.2 billion, remains on track to close in early 2027. The transaction would include approximately $1.85 billion of assumed Equiniti debt and about $2.35 billion paid in Bullish stock.

Equiniti provides shareholder, payments and transfer-related services, putting Bullish closer to infrastructure used in conventional financial markets. The purchase would extend Bullish beyond a cryptocurrency-focused trading business into the administration of securities and corporate ownership records.

That expansion carries a clear strategic logic alongside the company’s rising subscription and services revenue. Equiniti’s operations could add service lines that are less tied to daily crypto trading volumes, while also creating a bridge between digital-market technology and the systems used to manage listed-company shares.

The acquisition is also financially consequential. Bullish would be taking on $1.85 billion in Equiniti debt as part of a deal whose stock consideration represents more than half of the stated $4.2 billion value. Its execution will therefore be closely linked to Bullish’s equity valuation, funding costs and ability to integrate a much larger traditional financial-services operation.

Tokenized shares add another business line

One day before releasing its quarterly results, Bullish began live trading of tokenized shares on its exchange, according to the company. The digital instruments were settled against a dollar-backed stablecoin and offered under local regulatory rules.

Tokenized shares are blockchain-based representations of equity interests or equity-linked instruments. Their appeal rests partly on the possibility of faster settlement and more continuous market access, though the structure, legal rights and availability of such products depend heavily on the jurisdiction where they are issued and traded.

The launch fits Bullish’s effort to develop revenue sources that do not depend solely on spot cryptocurrency volumes. A regulated market for tokenized securities could produce trading, custody, settlement and service fees, though the company has not provided revenue expectations for the product.

Shares remain well below their post-listing peak

Bullish listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2025, selling 30 million shares at $37 each and raising $1.1 billion. The stock traded above $74 following the listing before changing hands near $25 in early 2026.

Shares closed Wednesday at $24.63, up 0.45% for the day. At that level, the stock was roughly one-third of its post-listing high, reflecting the pressure placed on the company by weaker trading activity, continuing net losses and the scale of its planned Equiniti acquisition.

Bullish also held about 24,300 BTC, according to BitcoinTreasuries, which ranked the company as the sixth-largest publicly tracked bitcoin treasury. The position gives Bullish significant exposure to Bitcoin’s price movements alongside its exchange and services operations.

The second-quarter figures show a company attempting to make its earnings profile less dependent on the cryptocurrency market’s busiest days. Its record service revenue offers evidence of that transition, while the Equiniti purchase would test whether Bullish can turn a growing fee business into a broader financial-infrastructure platform.