Bullish agreed to acquire transfer agent Equiniti from Siris Capital in a $4.2 billion transaction, giving the crypto exchange a major shareholder recordkeeping business as it pushes deeper into tokenized securities.

As part of the deal, Bullish will assume $1.85 billion in debt from Equiniti, according to a Tuesday announcement. The transaction is expected to close in January 2027, pending regulatory approval.

The acquisition will allow Bullish to offer 24/7 trading of tokenized securities and stablecoin-based payment and settlement tools. Equiniti is one of the world’s largest transfer agents, servicing nearly 3,000 companies, including the likes of Berkshire Hathaway and Rolls-Royce. Transfer agents are crucial for trading venues, as they are responsible for investor records, issuing ownership certificates and facilitating dividend payments.

The acquisition underscores a growing race between crypto exchanges and traditional market infrastructure companies to build tokenized securities products that can support 24/7 trading, stablecoin-based settlement and corporate workflows.

The deal comes over a month after the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) partnered with tokenization platform Securitize to develop blockchain-based trading infrastructure for Wall Street by enabling the minting of tokenized shares of stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Cointelegraph reported on March 24.

Cointelegraph has approached Bullish for more details about its tokenization initiatives.

Wall Street participants accelerate tokenization initiatives

Wall Street participants are accelerating their tokenization initiatives, despite a developing regulatory environment in the US.

On Jan. 19, the NYSE’s parent company, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), shared plans for a tokenized securities venue designed for 24/7 trading, instant settlement, stablecoin-based funding and onchain settlement. 

Two months later, on March 18, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave the regulatory greenlight to Nasdaq’s pilot proposal to support the trading of tokenized versions of high-volume stocks and securities. 

Tokenized stocks are shares of traditional company stocks minted on the blockchain ledger, offering investors exposure to stock prices with advantages including 24/7 accessibility and fractional ownership. 

Some of the largest crypto exchanges have also launched tokenized stock offerings, including Coinbase, Binance and Kraken.

Related: US financial markets ‘poised to move on-chain’ amid DTCC tokenization greenlight

Meanwhile, investor demand for tokenized stocks continues to rise.

Tokenized stocks, total value onchain, all-time chart. Source: RWA.xyz 

The value of onchain tokenized stocks rose by 31.4% in the past 30 days to $1.25 billion, while tokenized stock holders increased by 10% during the same period, data from RWA.xyz shows.

Still, tokenized stocks are only the fifth-largest asset class of the $30 billion tokenized RWA market. Tokenized US treasury debt ranks first at $15.2 billion, followed by tokenized commodities at $5 billion, asset-backed credit at $2.5 billion and tokenized specialty finance products at $1.6 billion.

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