US Market News
2 months ago
Bullish reports first quarter 2026 resultsMay 14, 2026 6:54 AM
Business Wire Q1’2026 Digital asset sales of $51.8 billion and Net income (loss) of $(604.9) million Q1’2026 Adjusted revenue of $92.8 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $35.1 million Bullish Options Trading volume grew to $11.6B in the Quarter while reaching Open Interest high of 14% market share in April 2026 Bullish (NYSE: BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. Tom Farley, CEO: “We're pleased with our Q1 results and we're even more excited about what comes next. With the proposed acquisition of Equiniti, we will have all three elements required to become a powerhouse leading the blockchain era: end-to-end tokenization services, a unified transfer agent ledger, and broad blue-chip issuer relationships.” Q1 2026 Financial Highlights All amounts compared to Q1 2025 Digital asset sales were $51.8 billion vs. $80.2 billion Net income (loss) was $(604.9) million vs. $(348.6) million equivalent to $(3.85) vs. $(3.04) per diluted share Adjusted revenue (non-IFRS) was $92.8 million vs. $62.4 million Adjusted transaction revenue (non-IFRS) was $38.0 million vs. $42.0 million Adjusted EBITDA (non-IFRS) was $35.1 million vs. $13.2 million Adjusted net income (non-IFRS) was $20.3 million vs. $2.1 million Q1 2026 Key Business Metrics Business Highlights Signed a definitive agreement to acquire Equiniti for $4.2B: Creating the first fully integrated blockchain-enabled, blue-chip issuer services provider - unifying a regulated transfer agent with end-to-end tokenization infrastructure Solidified position as the #2 Exchange for BTC Options: Drove growth by signing new clients and launching key product enhancements, contributing to Bullish Options Trading volume reaching $11.6B and open interest capture of 14% market share Diversified Product Offerings: Filed to receive our futures and options exchange and clearinghouse licenses (i.e., DCM, DCO) to expand our derivatives offerings to the United States Flagship Consensus Events: Highly successful Consensus Hong Kong (Q1) and Miami (Q2) events, drawing a combined 26,000+ attendees across 100+ countries CoinDesk Indices: Partnered with Morgan Stanley on their recently launched BTC ETF and soon to be launched ETH and SOL ETFs Re-Affirming Full Year 2026 Guidance Management is re-affirming the following guidance for the full year 2026: Subscription, services & other revenue (non-IFRS) of $220.0 million to $250.0 million Adjusted operating expenses (non-IFRS) of $210.0 million to $230.0 million Finance expense of $52.0 million to $60.0 million Conference Call Webcast and Q&A Information Bullish will host a call to discuss its results at 8:30 a.m. ET on May 14, 2026. The live webcast can be accessed at investors.bullish.com, along with supplemental slides. Following the call, a replay and transcript will be available at investors.bullish.com. About Bullish Bullish (NYSE: BLSH) is an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides regulated market infrastructure and information services. This includes Bullish Exchange – an institutionally focused digital assets spot and derivatives exchange, integrating a high-performance central limit order book matching engine with automated market making to provide deep and predictable liquidity. Bullish Europe is regulated under MiCAR as a crypto asset service provider offering spot trading and custody services for digital assets. Bullish is the parent company of CoinDesk, a leading provider of digital asset media and information services. CoinDesk's offerings include: CoinDesk Indices – a collection of tradable proprietary and single-asset benchmarks and indices that track the performance of digital assets for global institutions in the digital assets and traditional finance industries; CoinDesk Data – a broad suite of digital asset market data and analytics, providing real-time insights into prices, trends and market dynamics; and CoinDesk Insights – a digital asset media and events provider and operator of coindesk.com, a digital media platform that covers news and insights about digital assets, the underlying markets, policy and blockchain technology. For more information, please visit bullish.com and follow LinkedIn and X. Use of Websites to Distribute Material Company Information We use the Bullish Investor Relations website (investors.bullish.com) and our X account (x.com/bullish) to publicize information relevant to investors, including information that may be deemed material, in addition to filings we make with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and press releases. We encourage investors to regularly review the information posted on our website and X account in addition to our SEC filings and press releases to be informed of the latest developments. Non-IFRS financial measures and key performance indicators This communication includes certain financial measures that are not recognized by the International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). These non-IFRS financial measures are “adjusted transaction revenue,” “subscription, services and other revenue,” “adjusted revenue,” “adjusted net income / (loss)” and “adjusted EBITDA,” “gross liquid assets” and “net liquid assets”, and “adjusted operating expense.” These non-IFRS financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income, cash flows from operations or other measures of profitability, liquidity or performance under IFRS. We believe these non-IFRS financial measures provide useful information to management and investors regarding certain financial and business trends. These non-IFRS financial measures are subject to inherent limitations as they reflect the exercise of judgments about which items of expense and income are excluded or included in determining these non-IFRS financial measures. Refer to the section “Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures” for further details and a reconciliation of the non-IFRS financial measures presented to their most directly comparable IFRS financial measures. This communication also provides our forward-looking “adjusted transaction revenue,” “subscription, services & other revenue,” “adjusted revenue,” “adjusted operating expense,” “adjusted EBITDA,” and “adjusted net income” guidance for the upcoming fiscal quarter. Information reconciling upcoming fiscal quarter “adjusted transaction revenue,” “subscription, services & other revenue,” “adjusted revenue,” “adjusted operating expense,” “adjusted EBITDA,” and “adjusted net income” to their most directly comparable IFRS financial measures is unavailable to us without unreasonable effort due to the high variability, complexity and lack of visibility in making accurate forecasts and projections to certain reconciling items. These items cannot be reasonably and accurately predicted without the investment of undue time, costs and other resources, and accordingly, no reconciliation of the forward-looking non-IFRS financial measures is included. These reconciling items could be material to our actual results for the period. Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Sentences containing words such as “believe,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “expect,” “should,” “could,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” or their negatives, or other similar expressions of a future or forward-looking nature generally should be considered forward-looking statements. Such statements include, without limitation, statements relating to the acquisition of Equiniti, the future financial or operating performance, business strategy, and potential market opportunity of Bullish, Equiniti or the combined companies; our expected financial or operating performance, including for the upcoming fiscal quarter; our business strategy and potential market opportunities; current and prospective products, services or acquisitions; trends in, demand for, and growth and market size of, the digital assets industry; the breadth and timing of onchain adoption; expectations regarding relationships with clients and third-party business partners and overall business momentum; our plans and expectations related to tokenization and the growth and adoption of tokenized securities and blockchain technology; competition in our industry; the regulatory and legal environment, including regulatory proceedings or approvals; and general economic and business conditions. Such forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by us, are inherently uncertain and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause results to differ from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the satisfaction of the conditions to closing the acquisition of Equiniti in the anticipated timeframe or at all; the failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals; the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the combination; the ability to successfully integrate the business; litigation or regulatory actions related to the acquisition and combination; disruption from the acquisition and combination and its impact on our ability to grow our business and operations, including in new geographic locations; the costs or expenditures associated therewith; intense competition in our industry, including from unregulated and less-regulated entities and platforms; our ability to execute our business strategy and grow our business and operations, including in new geographic locations; our ability to develop, launch and improve our products and services and their adoption; our ability to attract and retain customers; the evolving rules and regulations applicable to digital assets, tokenization and our products and services; our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals and stay in compliance with laws and regulations, and the costs of doing so; evolution and adoption of digital assets; interest rate fluctuations and digital asset price volatility; changes in, or unexpected, costs to operate our business; cybersecurity risks, including with respect to digital assets custody; disruptions to information and technology systems, blockchain networks and third-party services on which we rely; changes in general market, political or economic conditions; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in our 20-F dated March 9, 2026 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), as well as potential risks and uncertainties disclosed in our other filings with the SEC. We may not actually achieve the performance, plans, or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements. Nothing in this communication should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth therein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We do not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements. Definitions of Certain Metrics Adjusted transaction revenue is a non-IFRS financial measure intended to capture the fees and trading spreads earned from customers trading on our Exchange. We define adjusted transactional revenue as (i) the portion of “Digital asset sales”, as reported in accordance with IFRS, attributable to digital asset sales on our Exchange, less (ii) the “Cost of digital assets derecognized” excluding such costs from sales on venues other than the Exchange, plus (iii) the change in fair value of digital asset inventories, arising from purchase of digital assets on our Exchange (included within reported “Change in fair value of digital assets held, net”), plus (iv) transaction income (included within reported “Other revenues”), plus (v) net spread related income and change in fair value of perpetual futures on the Exchange. We exclude digital asset sales, and the related cost of digital assets derecognized, from trading activity on venues other than our Exchange. We also exclude subscription and services revenue (included within reported other revenues). In each case, this approach is intended to ensure that our adjusted transaction revenue metric reflects the core performance of our trading operations and provides a clearer understanding of our business activities on our Exchange. While we include change in fair value of digital asset inventories, specifically the bid-offer spread earned from the purchase of digital assets on our Exchange, as part of our adjusted transaction revenue, we do not include other reported changes in fair value, such as subsequent remeasurements and mark-to-market adjustments. This is because these remeasurements, including impairment losses of digital assets held under intangible assets, are not considered part of our ongoing business operations and do not align with our intention to avoid taking directional trading positions. Adjusted revenue is a non-IFRS financial measure intended to reflect the revenues generated by our trading and information services and also from our investing activities. We define adjusted revenue as adjusted transaction revenue, plus (i) subscription and services revenue, which is included in reported other revenues and includes interest and revenues from CoinDesk and CCData, plus (ii) for periods prior to 2024 only, change in fair value of investment in financial assets, plus (iii) the net income from DeFi protocols excluding the fair value change of underlying digital assets, that is reported under OCI. Specifically, adjusted revenue includes the fees and trading spreads earned from customers trading on our Exchange, excludes gains or losses from the remeasurement of our digital assets and includes other fees such as interest and revenue from CoinDesk and CCData businesses that we acquired in November 2023 and October 2024, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as income/(loss) after tax adjusted to exclude: digital asset sales and the cost of digital assets derecognized on other venues, as these transactions do not directly reflect the core activities of liquidity provision and client facilitation on our Exchange. Excluding these is intended to ensure that our Adjusted EBITDA remains focused on the fundamental operations that drive our business; gains or losses from the remeasurement of our digital assets, as these assets are held to facilitate client trading rather than for proprietary trading purposes. Such remeasurement reflects mark-to-market (MTM) adjustments including the impairment losses of digital assets held under intangible assets that are not part of our ongoing business operations and do not align with our intention to avoid taking directional trading positions. The primary focus of our business model is to provide liquidity and facilitate client transactions on our Exchange, with the key performance metric being the bid-offer spread earned from digital asset spot transactions. Including MTM adjustments would introduce volatility that is not reflective of our core operational performance and could mislead stakeholders about the true drivers of our business; certain non-cash charges such as share-based compensation expenses and depreciation and amortization because the amount of such expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations; provision for or benefit from income tax and finance expenses; change in fair value of derivatives and financial liability at FVTPL; the change in fair value of investments in financial assets related to digital asset funds. These investments are not central to our core operations, as they do not directly contribute to our primary business activities of liquidity provision and client facilitation. The fair value changes are primarily driven by the mark-to-market (MTM) adjustments of the underlying digital assets within the funds. Including these fair value changes would introduce volatility of digital assets that does not accurately represent the operational metrics that are indicative of our business performance. Our core operating performance focuses on providing liquidity and facilitating client transactions, and we aim to avoid taking directional trading positions; certain acquisition-related and integration costs associated with business combinations, various restructuring and other costs, and goodwill impairment charges, all of which are not normal operating expenses. These adjustments aid in the comparability of our results across periods. Acquisition related costs include amounts paid to redeem acquirees’ unvested share-based compensation awards, legal, accounting, valuation, and due diligence costs. Integration costs include advisory and other professional services or consulting fees necessary to integrate acquired businesses. Restructuring and other costs that are not reflective of our core business operating expenses may include severance costs, contingent losses, impairment charges, and certain litigation and regulatory charges; and the net income from DeFi protocols, excluding the fair value change of underlying digital assets, which is a component of the “Revaluation of digital assets held as investments” under OCI. Deploying our digital assets in these protocols are a strategic component of our business model, providing additional yield and enhancing our liquidity management capabilities. Including this net income in Adjusted EBITDA reflects the performance of our investment activities and supports our focus on core operations. Adjusted EBITDA Less Capex is Adjusted EBITDA excluding funds used to acquire, upgrade, or maintain physical assets such as property, plants, buildings, technology, or equipment. Adjusted net income/(loss) is calculated as income/(loss) after tax adjusted by the same adjustment items taken into account for determining adjusted EBITDA, with further adjustment to add back finance expense and depreciation and amortization, and reduced by tax effect of the adjustments. Adjusted operating expense is calculated by taking total operating expenses (which includes Administrative expenses and Other expenses) and excluding items we do not consider representative of our core, ongoing operating performance. These excluded items are Stock-based compensation expense, Depreciation and amortization expense, and certain non-recurring expenses. We believe Adjusted Operating Expense is a useful supplemental measure for investors, as it provides a clearer view of our operational efficiency by removing non-cash expenses (depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation) and other items not indicative of ongoing business trends. Management uses this measure to assess business performance and to plan for future periods. Subscription, services & other revenue is a non-IFRS financial measure intended to provide a comprehensive view of our diverse revenue streams beyond core transaction fees and spreads. This measure includes revenue from lending and liquidity services, such as interest earned from third-party lending arrangements like credit line facilities and margin loans, interest on our own cash and stablecoins, fees from liquidity services and promotional income, and revenues from CoinDesk services such as sponsorships, event admissions, and index data licensing fees. It also incorporates the net income from DeFi protocols (excluding any fair value changes of the underlying digital assets). This non-IFRS measure is calculated by taking "Subscription and services revenue" (as reported within the "Other revenues") and adding "Net income from DeFi protocols, excluding the fair value change of underlying digital assets" (as reported within “Revaluation of digital assets held as investments”). By consolidating these various income sources, we believe this measure offers a more distinct view of the growth and performance of our service-oriented business lines, separate from our core transaction-based revenues. Trading volume represents the notional value of trades, i.e., the product of the quantity of assets transacted and the trade price at the time the spot transaction was executed. The quantity represents the total U.S. dollar equivalent value of matched trades transacted between a buyer and seller through our platform during the period of measurement. Average daily volume represents the total Trading volume for the applicable period divided by the number of trading days in such period. Average trading spread represents total commissions earned from transactions on the Bullish Exchange for the period, expressed in basis points (bps) of the trading volume for the period. Management reviews this metric, which reflects the cost of trading on the Bullish Exchange, changes in fair value of perpetual futures, and rebates, for insight into the average revenue generated per unit of trading volume on our platform. Gross liquid assets is defined as the sum of (i) Digital assets held?—?inventories, (ii) Digital assets held?—?intangible assets, (iii) Digital assets held?—?financial assets, (iv) Loans and other receivables?—?digital assets, (v) Investments in financial assets, and (vi) Cash and cash equivalents. Net liquid assets is defined as Gross liquid assets, reduced by (i) Digital assets held —?inventories, (ii) the portion of Digital assets held —?financial assets on our Exchange, (iii) the portion of Cash and cash equivalents on our Exchange, (iv) Borrowings, (v) Borrowings from related parties, and (vi) Digital assets loan payable. Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share “EPS” is defined as Adjusted Net Income divided by Adjusted Diluted Weighted Average Shares Outstanding. The numerator, Adjusted Net Income, is defined above. The denominator, Adjusted Diluted Weighted Average Shares Outstanding, is calculated as the basic weighted average shares of common stock outstanding determined in accordance with IFRS, plus the assumed exchange of all outstanding Participating Securities into shares of diluted weighted average shares outstanding. This adjustment reflects the fully diluted capital structure of the Company by including all equity-linked instruments that have economic participation rights. Adjusted Diluted EPS has limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for diluted earnings per share calculated in accordance with IFRS. Adjusted Fully Diluted WA Shares Outstanding is defined as Ordinary shares outstanding plus (i) the vested and unvested portion of BMC1 Class A and Class B shares as converted into Ordinary shares (ii) the vested and unvested portion of outstanding options assuming all options are exercised for Ordinary shares (iii) the vested and unvested portion of RSU's outstanding that have not yet been delivered less (iv) the number of Ordinary shares Bullish would be able to repurchase at market price with the proceeds from the exercise of vested and unvested options. BULLISH CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF PROFIT OR LOSS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME/(LOSS) (UNAUDITED) FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2026 AND 2025 (In thousands, except per share data) Three months ended March 31, 2026 2025 Digital assets sales $ 51,812,747 $ 80,236,157 Cost of digital assets derecognized (51,792,742 ) (80,209,641 ) Other revenues 57,482 20,304 Change in fair value of digital assets held, net (559,584 ) (246,762 ) Net spread related income and change in fair value of perpetual futures on the Exchange 35 (3,702 ) Change in fair value of investment in financial assets (92,373 ) (71,810 ) Administrative expenses (48,280 ) (47,186 ) Other expenses (45,530 ) (15,063 ) Finance expense (14,088 ) (10,240 ) Change in fair value of derivatives 69,197 — Change in fair value of financial liability at FVTPL 8,500 (900 ) Income/(loss) before income tax $ (604,636 ) $ (348,843 ) Income tax benefit/(expense) (226 ) (221 ) Net income/(loss) $ (604,862 ) $ (348,622 ) Attributable to: Owners of the Group (581,713 ) (343,994 ) Non-controlling interests (23,149 ) (4,628 ) Net income/(loss) $ (604,862 ) $ (348,622 ) Other comprehensive income/(loss) Items that will not be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss: Revaluation of digital assets held as investments (26,636 ) (99,903 ) Fair value gain/(loss) on financial liabilities designated as at FVTPL attributable to changes in credit risk 14,250 6,050 $ (12,386 ) $ (93,853 ) Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss: Foreign exchange differences on translation of foreign operations (302 ) 543 Total comprehensive income/(loss) $ (617,550 ) $ (441,932 ) Attributable to: Owners of the Group (593,903 ) (436,318 ) Non-controlling interests (23,647 ) (5,614 ) Total comprehensive income/(loss) $ (617,550 ) $ (441,932 ) Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of basic and diluted earnings/(loss) per share Basic 151,146 113,215 Diluted 151,146 113,215 Earnings/(Loss) per share Basic $ (3.85 ) $ (3.04 ) Diluted $ (3.85 ) $ (3.04 ) BULLISH CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED) AS OF MARCH 31, 2026 AND DECEMBER 31, 2025 (In thousands) March 31, 2026 December 31, 2025 ASSETS Non-current assets Goodwill $ 62,682 $ 63,062 Other intangible assets 30,535 31,104 Property and equipment and right-of-use assets 26,465 28,369 Deferred tax assets 2,995 2,865 Other assets 17,662 21,311 Restricted cash 5,840 5,727 Total non-current assets $ 146,179 $ 152,438 Current assets Digital assets held - inventories $ 142,698 $ 206,178 Digital assets held - intangible assets 1,298,611 1,537,071 Digital assets held - financial assets 863,306 1,037,915 Loan and other receivables - digital assets 395,684 446,481 Derivative financial instruments 6,298 — Investments in financial assets 266,640 404,144 Other assets 55,945 47,502 Customer segregated cash 55,640 20,044 Restricted cash 17,003 16,839 Cash and cash equivalents 76,052 87,892 Total current assets $ 3,177,877 $ 3,804,066 Total assets $ 3,324,056 $ 3,956,504 LIABILITIES Non-current liabilities Borrowings from related parties $ 482,850 $ 505,600 Convertible redeemable preference shares — — Digital assets loan payable 4,885 5,267 Lease liabilities 12,817 14,378 Deferred tax liabilities 18 18 Other payables — 3,000 Total non-current liabilities $ 500,570 $ 528,263 Current liabilities Customer segregated cash liabilities $ 55,640 $ 20,044 Borrowings — 49,982 Digital assets loan payable 334 334 Lease liabilities 6,213 5,524 Other payables 58,092 54,028 Total current liabilities $ 120,279 $ 129,912 Total liabilities $ 620,849 $ 658,175 Net assets $ 2,703,207 $ 3,298,329 EQUITY Share capital and share premium $ 5,119,254 $ 5,110,063 Option premium on convertible redeemable preference shares — — Reserves 390,214 774,224 Accumulated deficit (2,860,139 ) (2,668,100 ) Total shareholders' equity attributable to the owners of the Group $ 2,649,329 $ 3,216,187 Non-controlling interests 53,878 82,142 Total equity $ 2,703,207 $ 3,298,329 BULLISH CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED) FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2026 AND 2025 (In thousands) Three months ended March 31, 2026 2025 Cash flows from operating activities Net income/(loss) $ (604,862 ) $ (348,622 ) Adjustments for: Interest income (5,686 ) (2,632 ) Debt interest expense 13,777 9,987 Lease interest expense 311 253 Net foreign exchange loss — (262 ) Share-based payments expenses 5,603 5,133 Depreciation of property and equipment and right-of-use assets 1,670 1,498 Amortization of other intangible assets 557 616 Impairment of right-of-use asset 591 — Loss from revaluation of digital assets and other investments in financial assets at FVTPL, net 226,419 176,484 Change in fair value of financial liability at FVTPL (8,482 ) 900 Impairment losses of digital assets 359,209 142,088 Operating cash flows before changes in operating assets and liabilities (10,893 ) (14,557 ) Decrease/(increase) in other assets (21,737 ) 1,184 Increase in deferred tax assets (130 ) (268 ) Decrease in digital assets held - inventories 6,005 282,844 Decrease/(increase) in digital assets held - intangible assets — — (Increase) in digital assets held - financial assets (307,298 ) (264,599 ) Decrease/(increase) in digital assets held - loan receivable 391,604 (3,123 ) (Decrease) in other payables (4,292 ) (7,438 ) Increase in customer segregated cash liabilities 35,596 216 Increase/(decrease) in digital assets held - customer segregated inventories — — Increase/(decrease) in customer segregated liabilities - digital assets — — Increase in deferred tax liabilities 1 10 Interest received 2,067 2,152 Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities 90,923 (3,579 ) Cash flows from investing activities Cash paid for business combinations — — Cash acquired from business combinations — — Purchase of digital assets for liquidation reserve — — Receivable for loans made via margin lending services — — Cash paid for business combinations — — Cash acquired from business combinations — — Purchase of investment in financial assets (6,449 ) (1,275 ) Proceeds on investment in financial assets — — Cash received from investment in derivative financial instruments — — Cash paid for investment in derivative financial instruments — — Purchase of property and equipment (412 ) (196 ) Proceeds on disposal of property and equipment 20 — Purchase of digital assets held - intangible assets (907 ) (41,491 ) Proceeds on disposal of digital assets held - intangible assets 4,345 30,448 Prepayment on intangible assets — — Net cash used in investing activities (3,403 ) (12,514 ) Cash flows from financing activities Proceeds from issuance of ordinary shares 1,349 — Dividends paid — — Interest paid (13,777 ) (10,240 ) Proceeds from loans — 74,300 Repayment of loans (50,000 ) (49,300 ) Repayment on lease liabilities (1,126 ) (1,331 ) Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities (63,554 ) 13,429 Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents, customer segregated cash and restricted cash 23,966 (2,664 ) Cash and cash equivalents, customer segregated cash and restricted cash at beginning of the period 130,502 55,783 Effects of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents, customer segregated cash and restricted cash 67 (231 ) Cash and cash equivalents, customer segregated cash and restricted cash at end of the period $ 154,535 $ 52,888 Cash and cash equivalents, customer segregated cash and restricted cash consisted of the following: Customer segregated cash 55,640 6,598 Restricted cash 22,843 17,990 Cash and cash equivalents 76,052 28,300 Total cash and cash equivalents, customer segregated cash and restricted cash $ 154,535 $ 52,888 Supplemental schedule of non-cash investing and financing activities Recognition of right-of-use assets against lease liabilities — 2,715 Purchase of digital assets held - intangible assets (3,395,970 ) (12,147,047 ) Proceeds on disposal of digital assets held - intangible assets 3,420,100 11,818,045 Digital asset loan receivables made, net (514,856 ) 32,472 Digital asset pledged as collateral made, net 98,452 84,137 Interest Received in Digital Assets 962 — Purchase of investment in financial assets via USDC — (10,116 ) Prepayment on intangible assets made, net (7,366 ) — Non-cash purchase of investment (6,770 ) — Non-cash proceeds of sales of investments 120,840 — Interest paid in digital assets (4,683 ) — Proceeds from borrowings via digital assets 966,841 676,959 Repayment from borrowings via digital assets (962,963 ) (672,758 ) Proceeds from digital assets loan payable via digital assets 154,928 84,554 Repayments from digital assets loan payable via digital assets (154,224 ) (34,896 ) Proceeds from issuance of Ordinary shares — — Non-IFRS Measures Summarized In US$ thousands Three months ended March 31, March 31, ($ in thousands) 2026 2025 Non-IFRS Financial Measures Adjusted transaction revenue $ 38,017 $ 42,027 Adjusted revenue $ 92,826 $ 62,411 Adjusted EBITDA $ 35,149 $ 13,168 Adjusted Net Income $ 20,297 $ 2,138 Adjusted Opex $ 57,680 $ 49,242 Period ended March 31, December 31, ($ in thousands) 2026 2025 Gross Liquid Assets $ 3,042,991 $ 3,719,681 Net Liquid Assets $ 2,271,816 $ 2,859,701 Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures In US$ thousands ($ in thousands) Three months ended March 31, March 31, Adjusted Transaction Revenue and Adjusted Revenue 2026 2025 Digital assets sales $ 51,812,747 $ 80,236,157 Digital asset sales on venues other than Exchange — (303,863 ) Digital asset sales - on our Exchange $ 51,812,747 $ 79,932,294 Cost of digital assets derecognized - on our Exchange (51,792,742 ) (79,905,816 ) Change in fair value of digital assets inventories, arising from purchase of digital assets on our Exchange 15,265 18,688 Transaction income 2,712 563 Net spread related income and change in fair value of perpetual futures 35 (3,702 ) Adjusted Transaction Revenue $ 38,017 $ 42,027 Subscriptions and services revenue 54,770 19,741 Change in fair value of investment in financial assets — — Revaluation of digital assets held as investments 39 643 Adjusted Revenue $ 92,826 $ 62,411 Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income Income/(loss) $ (604,862 ) $ (348,623 ) Adjusted to exclude the following: Digital asset sales on venues other than Exchange — (303,863 ) Cost of digital assets derecognized on other venues — 303,825 Loss/(Gain) from changes in fair value of digital assets inventories net payable to customers 150,924 115,267 Income tax expense 226 (221 ) Finance expenses 14,088 10,240 Employee share-based payment expenses 5,603 5,133 Other share-based payment expenses 15,438 — Change in fair value of loan and other receivables - digital assets 73,236 21,400 Change in fair value of digital assets loan payable (280 ) (13,305 ) Change in fair value of derivatives (69,197 ) — Change in fair value of financial liability at FVTPL (8,500 ) 900 Change in fair value of investments in financial assets 92,373 71,810 Impairment losses of digital assets held - intangible assets 350,970 142,088 Impairment of right-of-use assets 591 — Impairment of digital assets 8,239 — Non-recurring expenses 5,487 7,085 Depreciation and amortization 772 789 Adjusted to include the following: Revaluation of digital assets held as investments 39 643 Adjusted EBITDA $ 35,149 $ 13,168 Finance expenses (14,088 ) (10,240 ) Depreciation and amortization (772 ) (789 ) Tax effect of adjusted net income before taxes 8 (1 ) Adjusted Net Income $ 20,297 $ 2,138 Note - Figures presented may not sum precisely due to rounding. Gross and Net Liquid Assets In US$ thousands March 31, 2026 December 31, 2025 Digital assets held - inventories $ 142,698 $ 206,178 Digital assets held - intangible assets 1,298,611 1,537,071 Digital assets held - financial assets (on Exchange) 135,230 84,993 Digital assets held - financial assets (off Exchange) 728,076 952,922 Loan and other receivable 395,684 446,481 Investments in financial assets 266,640 404,144 Cash and cash equivalents 76,052 87,892 Gross Liquid Assets $ 3,042,991 $ 3,719,681 (-) Digital assets held - inventories $ (142,698 ) $ (206,178 ) (-) Digital assets held - financial assets (on Exchange) (135,230 ) (84,993 ) (-) Digital assets loan payable (5,219 ) (5,601 ) (-) Borrowings — (49,982 ) (-) Borrowings from related parties (482,850 ) (505,600 ) (-) Cash on the Exchange (5,178 ) (7,626 ) Net Liquid Assets $ 2,271,816 $ 2,859,701 Note - Figures presented may not sum precisely due to rounding. Reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Expense In US$ thousands ($ in thousands) Three months ended March 31, March 31, IFRS Core Operating Expense to Adjusted Operating Expense 2026 2025 IFRS Core Operating Expense $ 93,810 $ 62,249 Adjusted for Employee stock-based compensation expense 5,603 5,133 Other stock-based compensation expense 15,438 - Non-recurring expenses - legal and professional fees 4,040 6,047 Non-recurring expenses - compensation and benefits 1,447 1,038 Depreciation and amortization expense 772 789 Impairment of right-of-use assets 591 - Impairment of digital assets 8,239 - Adjusted Operating Expense $ 57,680 $ 49,242 Note - Figures presented may not sum precisely due to rounding. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260514819100/en/ Media: media@bullish.com
Investor Relations: investors@bullish.com Original: Bullish reports first quarter 2026 results
US Market News
5 months ago
Consensus Hong Kong 2026 Concludes with 11,000 Attendees, Driving the Global Dialogue on Finance and Digital AssetsFebruary 13, 2026 2:30 AM
PR Newswire (US)
HONG KONG, Feb. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Consensus Hong Kong 2026, held from February 10–12 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, wrapped its second edition after three days of high-impact programming that attracted 11,000 registered attendees representing over 122 countries and regions.
The conference opened with remarks by The Honourable John KC Lee, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, who said in his opening address, "The world of Web3 and digital assets carries with it vast potential. They help to realise more efficient financial transactions, at a lower cost and with more inclusive options. The Hong Kong Government is committed to establishing Hong Kong as a global hub for innovation in digital assets. That's why over the past few years, Hong Kong has been actively building the regulatory framework to promote the steady, and sustainable, development of our Web3 ecosystem."The event is estimated to have generated close to HK$300 million in economic impact for the local economy and featured a globally diverse audience, with a near 50/50 split between participants from Asia and the rest of the world. Top attending geographies included Hong Kong, the U.S., China, India, the UAE, Singapore, the UK and South Korea. Senior leadership comprised 62% of the total attendance, reflecting the event's role as a central gathering point for high-level industry decision-makers.The Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, the Honourable Paul Chan Mo-po also addressed the conference as a keynote speaker, highlighting, "As the convergence of AI and blockchain continues to accelerate, the government and our regulators will work with the industry to foster concrete, high-impact use cases, while ensuring that emerging risks are properly identified, monitored and managed."Featuring more than 350 speakers, the 2026 agenda highlighted the maturation of the digital asset sector, covering everything from institutional adoption and stablecoins to the architecture of new 'Internet Capital Markets.' This year also spotlighted the 'Machine Economy,' and the harmonization of AI agents, robotics, and on-chain execution. Speakers included Lily Liu, president of the Solana Foundation; Richard Teng, co-CEO of Binance; Justin Sun, founder of TRON; Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital; Ella Zhang, head of YZi Labs; Joe Ngai, chairman of McKinsey & Co. Greater China; and Charles Hoskinson, Co-Founder and CEO of Input Output.In addition to regulators and industry leaders, more than 1000 developers and 240 startups took part in the EasyA Consensus Hackathon and CoinDesk PitchFest, respectively. Alex Scheer of zkMe Technology Limited - which lets users and businesses verify user credentials without disclosing any personal information using zero-knowledge cryptography - claimed the PitchFest title, while Hackathon winners included FoundrAI, an autonomous AI agent designed to launch startups/projects, deploy tokens, and hire humans to build the products they launch; SentinelFi, which provides real-time safety scores for crypto traders with six-category on-chain analysis; and PumpStop, a non-custodial trading layer that helps users to manage risk through integrated stop-loss functionality.In addition, the Solana Foundation debuted Solana Accelerate APAC at Consensus at the show on?February 11, bringing thousands more builders, policymakers, and executives to discuss payments, institutional finance, DeFi, tokenization, AI infrastructure, and more specific to the Solana ecosystem.Consensus Hong Kong 2026 built its agenda to turn the city into a week-long hub for industry and lifestyle experiences. In parallel with the main conference, over 400 side events took place over the course of the week. The past three days also saw raucous official Consensus parties at The Trilogy and Pier 1929, as well as a return to the Happy Valley Racecourse with The Consensus Cup.With the support from 124 sponsors and 240 community and marketing partners, this year's event expanded beyond the venue and reinforced Hong Kong's role as a global hub for digital assets."Consensus was the perfect occasion to showcase the progress we've seen, not just in digital assets, but across AI, robotics, and internet capital markets," said Michael Lau, Chairman of Consensus. "Hong Kong continues to prove its role as a gateway to Asia, showcasing how forward-thinking policy and innovation have helped accelerate progress in one of the fastest-growing markets for digital asset adoption. I'm excited to bring that momentum to Miami, convening global leaders to advance the conversation across the Americas."Following its success in Hong Kong, Consensus will be heading to Miami, May 5-7, 2026, at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Serving as the definitive gathering for the west, the Miami edition will continue the conversations started in Hong Kong, bringing together high-level investors, builders and policymakers to define the digital asset agenda for the year ahead.Tickets for Consensus Miami 2026 are available here.About Consensus
Consensus by CoinDesk is the world's longest-running and most influential gathering for the crypto, blockchain and AI industries. Bringing together industry leaders, policymakers and innovators, it helps people understand the future of digital assets with discussions on key topics such as DeFi, Web3, AI, the evolving regulatory landscape and more. With a mix of panels, keynotes and networking opportunities, Consensus provides a platform to explore the latest trends shaping the digital economy. For more information about Consensus, please visit https://events.coindesk.com/About CoinDesk
CoinDesk is the most trusted media, events, indices and data company for the global crypto economy. Since 2013, CoinDesk Media has led the story of the future of money and investing, illuminating the transformation in society and culture that comes with it. Part of Bullish Group (NYSE: BLSH), CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Bullish may do business with organizations or foundations that attend or are sponsors of Consensus events, or which are otherwise featured in our editorial content. Our award-winning team of journalists delivers news and unparalleled insights that bring transparency, comprehension and context. CoinDesk Indices and CoinDesk Data provide institutional-grade benchmarks and analytics for the digital asset ecosystem. CoinDesk gathers the global crypto, blockchain and Web3 communities at annual events such as Consensus, the world's largest and longest-running crypto festival. For more information, please visit CoinDesk.com.Use of Websites to Distribute Material Company Information
We use the Bullish Investor Relations website (investors.bullish.com) and our X account (x.com/bullish) to publicize information relevant to investors, including information that may be deemed material, in addition to filings we make with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and press releases. We encourage investors to regularly review the information posted on our website and X account in addition to our SEC filings and press releases to be informed of the latest developments.Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Sentences containing words such as "believe," "intend," "plan," "may," "expect," "should," "could," "anticipate," "estimate," "predict," "project," or their negatives, or other similar expressions of a future or forward-looking nature generally should be considered forward-looking statements and include, without limitation, statements relating to future events or Bullish's future financial or operating performance, business strategy, and potential market opportunity. Such forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Bullish, are inherently uncertain and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause results to differ from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited, to our ability to grow our business and operations, including in new geographic locations, the costs or expenditures associated therewith, competition in our industry, and the evolving rules and regulations applicable to digital assets and our industry. You should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made, and Bullish undertakes no duty to update these forward-looking statements.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/consensus-hong-kong-2026-concludes-with-11-000-attendees-driving-the-global-dialogue-on-finance-and-digital-assets-302687440.htmlSOURCE Consensus by CoinDesk
Original: Consensus Hong Kong 2026 Concludes with 11,000 Attendees, Driving the Global Dialogue on Finance and Digital Assets
US Market News
5 months ago
Bullish Reports Fourth Quarter 2025 ResultsFebruary 5, 2026 6:45 AM
Business Wire
Q4’2025 Digital asset sales of $64.3 billion and Net income of $(563.6) million
Bullish posts record Adjusted revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted net income for Q4’2025
Bullish beats guided range on Subscription, services, & other revenue and in-line with guided range on Adjusted operating expense in Q4’2025
Q4’2025 Adjusted revenue of $92.5 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $44.5 million
Bullish options trading surpasses $9B in options trading volume and reaches open interest high of $4B (open interest data through January 31, 2026)
Bullish (NYSE: BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2025.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260205505526/en/
Tom Farley, CEO: “I believe that we are at a turning point for digital assets. For all of crypto’s extreme volatility and cyclicality, the vision of faster, better, cheaper, permissionless capital is being unlocked in real-time to bring everything onchain. What I envision immediately ahead for this industry - and, particularly for Bullish, is why I came to the digital assets space.”
David Bonanno, CFO: “I’m proud of our financial results for the quarter and the Full Year 2025, achieving record adjusted revenue growth and demonstrating our strong and expanding operating leverage; we look forward to building on our momentum in 2026.”
Q4 2025 Financial Highlights
All amounts compared to Q4 2024
Digital asset sales were $64.3 billion vs. $66.0 billion
Net income (loss) was $(563.6) million or $(3.73) per diluted share vs. $158.5 million or $1.37 per diluted share
Adjusted revenue (non-IFRS) was $92.5 million vs. $55.2 million
Adjusted transaction revenue (non-IFRS) was $37.9 million vs. $41.0 million
Adjusted net income (non-IFRS) was $28.9 million vs. $4.0 million
Adjusted EBITDA (non-IFRS) was $44.5 million vs. $15.8 million
Full Year 2025 Financial Highlights
All amounts compared to Full Year 2024
Digital asset sales were $244.8 billion vs. $250.2 billion
Net income (loss) was $(785.5) million vs. $79.6 million
Adjusted revenue (non-IFRS) was $288.5 million vs. $213.9 million
Adjusted transaction revenue (non-IFRS) was $130.7 million vs. $153.2 million
Adjusted net income (non-IFRS) was $38.8 million vs. $9.6 million
Adjusted EBITDA (non-IFRS) was $94.3 million vs. $52.1 million
Q4 2025 Key Business Metrics
Business Highlights
Options Launch and Rapid Adoption: Surpassed $9B in options trading volume and reached an open interest high of $4B, establishing Bullish as the #2 exchange for BTC options open interest (open interest data through January 31, 2026)
ETP Strength: Established position as the #1 Indexer by market share for all indexers of digital assets, winning 15 of 39 digital asset focused ETF listings globally in 4Q’ 2025
Liquidity Services Growth: Continued momentum from established and emerging asset issuers with new institutional partnerships, driving another quarter of record SS&O revenue
U.S. Regulatory: Secured Transfer Agent Registration furthering the development of our tokenization stack
2026 Guidance
To give investors insight into our business and expectations, management is providing the following guidance for the full year 2026:
Subscription, services & other revenue (non-IFRS) of $220.0 million to $250.0 million
Adjusted operating expense (non-IFRS) of $210.0 million to $230.0 million
Finance expense of $52.0 million to $60.0 million
Conference Call Webcast and Q&A Information
Bullish will host a call to discuss its results at 8:30 a.m. ET on February 5, 2026. The live webcast can be accessed at investors.bullish.com, along with supplemental slides. Following the call, a replay and transcript will be available at investors.bullish.com.
About Bullish
Bullish (NYSE: BLSH) is an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides regulated market infrastructure and information services. This includes Bullish Exchange – an institutionally focused digital assets spot and derivatives exchange, integrating a high-performance central limit order book matching engine with automated market making to provide deep and predictable liquidity. Bullish Europe is regulated under MiCAR as a crypto asset service provider offering spot trading and custody services for digital assets.
Bullish is the parent company of CoinDesk, a leading provider of digital asset media and information services. CoinDesk's offerings include: CoinDesk Indices – a collection of tradable proprietary and single-asset benchmarks and indices that track the performance of digital assets for global institutions in the digital assets and traditional finance industries; CoinDesk Data – a broad suite of digital asset market data and analytics, providing real-time insights into prices, trends and market dynamics; and CoinDesk Insights – a digital asset media and events provider and operator of coindesk.com, a digital media platform that covers news and insights about digital assets, the underlying markets, policy and blockchain technology. For more information, please visit bullish.com and follow LinkedIn and X.
Use of Websites to Distribute Material Company Information
We use the Bullish Investor Relations website (investors.bullish.com) and our X account (x.com/bullish) to publicize information relevant to investors, including information that may be deemed material, in addition to filings we make with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and press releases. We encourage investors to regularly review the information posted on our website and X account in addition to our SEC filings and press releases to be informed of the latest developments.
Non-IFRS financial measures and key performance indicators
This communication includes certain financial measures that are not recognized by the International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). These non-IFRS financial measures are “adjusted transaction revenue,” “subscription, services and other revenue,” “adjusted revenue,” “adjusted net income / (loss)” and “adjusted EBITDA,” “gross liquid assets” and “net liquid assets”, and “adjusted operating expense.” These non-IFRS financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income, cash flows from operations or other measures of profitability, liquidity or performance under IFRS. We believe these non-IFRS financial measures provide useful information to management and investors regarding certain financial and business trends. These non-IFRS financial measures are subject to inherent limitations as they reflect the exercise of judgments about which items of expense and income are excluded or included in determining these non-IFRS financial measures. Refer to the section “Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures” for further details and a reconciliation of the non-IFRS financial measures presented to their most directly comparable IFRS financial measures.
This communication also provides our forward-looking “adjusted transaction revenue,” “subscription, services & other revenue,” “adjusted revenue,” “adjusted operating expense,” “adjusted EBITDA,” and “adjusted net income” guidance for the upcoming fiscal quarter. Information reconciling upcoming fiscal quarter “adjusted transaction revenue,” “subscription, services & other revenue,” “adjusted revenue,” “adjusted operating expense,” “adjusted EBITDA,” and “adjusted net income” to their most directly comparable IFRS financial measures is unavailable to us without unreasonable effort due to the high variability, complexity and lack of visibility in making accurate forecasts and projections to certain reconciling items. These items cannot be reasonably and accurately predicated without the investment of undue time, costs and other resources, and accordingly, no reconciliation of the forward-looking non-IFRS financial measures is included. These reconciling items could be material to our actual results for the period.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Sentences containing words such as “believe,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “expect,” “should,” “could,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” or their negatives, or other similar expressions of a future or forward-looking nature generally should be considered forward-looking statements. Such statements include, without limitation, statements relating to our expected financial or operating performance, including for the upcoming fiscal quarter; our business strategy and potential market opportunities; current and prospective products, services or acquisitions; trends in, demand for, and growth and market size of, the digital assets industry; the breadth and timing of onchain adoption; expectations regarding relationships with clients and third-party business partners and overall business momentum; our plans and expectations related to tokenization; competition in our industry; the regulatory and legal environment, including regulatory proceedings or approvals; and general economic and business conditions. Such forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by us, are inherently uncertain and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause results to differ from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to intense competition in our industry, including from unregulated and less-regulated entities and platforms; our ability to execute our business strategy and grow our business and operations, including in new geographic locations; our ability to develop, launch and improve our products and services and their adoption; our ability to attract and retain customers; the evolving rules and regulations applicable to digital assets and our products and services; our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals and stay in compliance with laws and regulations, and the costs of doing so; evolution and adoption of digital assets; interest rate fluctuations and digital asset price volatility; changes in, or unexpected, costs to operate our business; cybersecurity risks, including with respect to digital assets custody; disruptions to information and technology systems, blockchain networks and third-party services on which we rely; changes in general market, political or economic conditions; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in our final prospectus dated August 12, 2025 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), as well as potential risks and uncertainties disclosed in our other filings with the SEC. We may not actually achieve the performance, plans, or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements. Nothing in this communication should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth therein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We do not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements.
Definitions of Certain Metrics
Adjusted transaction revenue is a non-IFRS financial measure intended to capture the fees and trading spreads earned from customers trading on our Exchange. We define adjusted transactional revenue as (i) the portion of “Digital asset sales”, as reported in accordance with IFRS, attributable to digital asset sales on our Exchange, less (ii) the “Cost of digital assets derecognized” excluding such costs from sales on venues other than the Exchange, plus (iii) the change in fair value of digital asset inventories, arising from purchase of digital assets on our Exchange (included within reported “Change in fair value of digital assets held, net”), plus (iv) transaction income (included within reported “Other revenues”), plus (v) net spread related income and change in fair value of perpetual futures on the Exchange.
We exclude digital asset sales, and the related cost of digital assets derecognized, from trading activity on venues other than our Exchange. We also exclude subscription and services revenue (included within reported other revenues). In each case, this approach is intended to ensure that our adjusted transaction revenue metric reflects the core performance of our trading operations and provides a clearer understanding of our business activities on our Exchange.
While we include change in fair value of digital asset inventories, specifically the bid-offer spread earned from the purchase of digital assets on our Exchange, as part of our adjusted transaction revenue, we do not include other reported changes in fair value, such as subsequent remeasurements and mark-to-market adjustments. This is because these remeasurements, including impairment losses of digital assets held under intangible assets, are not considered part of our ongoing business operations and do not align with our intention to avoid taking directional trading positions.
Adjusted revenue is a non-IFRS financial measure intended to reflect the revenues generated by our trading and information services and also from our investing activities. We define adjusted revenue as adjusted transaction revenue, plus (i) subscription and services revenue, which is included in reported other revenues and includes interest and revenues from CoinDesk and CCData, plus (ii) for periods prior to 2024 only, change in fair value of investment in financial assets, plus (iii) the net income from DeFi protocols excluding the fair value change of underlying digital assets, that is reported under OCI.
Specifically, adjusted revenue includes the fees and trading spreads earned from customers trading on our Exchange, excludes gains or losses from the remeasurement of our digital assets and includes other fees such as interest and revenue from CoinDesk and CCData businesses that we acquired in November 2023 and October 2024, respectively.
Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as income/(loss) after tax adjusted to exclude:
digital asset sales and the cost of digital assets derecognized on other venues, as these transactions do not directly reflect the core activities of liquidity provision and client facilitation on our Exchange. Excluding these is intended to ensure that our Adjusted EBITDA remains focused on the fundamental operations that drive our business;
gains or losses from the remeasurement of our digital assets, as these assets are held to facilitate client trading rather than for proprietary trading purposes. Such remeasurement reflects mark-to-market (MTM) adjustments including the impairment losses of digital assets held under intangible assets that are not part of our ongoing business operations and do not align with our intention to avoid taking directional trading positions. The primary focus of our business model is to provide liquidity and facilitate client transactions on our Exchange, with the key performance metric being the bid-offer spread earned from digital asset spot transactions. Including MTM adjustments would introduce volatility that is not reflective of our core operational performance and could mislead stakeholders about the true drivers of our business;
certain non-cash charges such as share-based compensation expenses and depreciation and amortization because the amount of such expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations;
provision for or benefit from income tax and finance expenses;
change in fair value of derivatives and financial liability at FVTPL;
the change in fair value of investments in financial assets related to digital asset funds. These investments are not central to our core operations, as they do not directly contribute to our primary business activities of liquidity provision and client facilitation. The fair value changes are primarily driven by the mark-to-market (MTM) adjustments of the underlying digital assets within the funds. Including these fair value changes would introduce volatility of digital assets that does not accurately represent the operational metrics that are indicative of our business performance. Our core operating performance focuses on providing liquidity and facilitating client transactions, and we aim to avoid taking directional trading positions;
certain acquisition-related and integration costs associated with business combinations, various restructuring and other costs, and goodwill impairment charges, all of which are not normal operating expenses. These adjustments aid in the comparability of our results across periods. Acquisition related costs include amounts paid to redeem acquirees’ unvested share-based compensation awards, legal, accounting, valuation, and due diligence costs. Integration costs include advisory and other professional services or consulting fees necessary to integrate acquired businesses. Restructuring and other costs that are not reflective of our core business operating expenses may include severance costs, contingent losses, impairment charges, and certain litigation and regulatory charges; and
the net income from DeFi protocols, excluding the fair value change of underlying digital assets, which is a component of the “Revaluation of digital assets held as investments” under OCI. Deploying our digital assets in these protocols are a strategic component of our business model, providing additional yield and enhancing our liquidity management capabilities. Including this net income in Adjusted EBITDA reflects the performance of our investment activities and supports our focus on core operations.
Adjusted net income/(loss) is calculated as income/(loss) after tax adjusted by the same adjustment items taken into account for determining adjusted EBITDA, with further adjustment to add back finance expense and depreciation and amortization, and reduced by tax effect of the adjustments.
Adjusted operating expense is calculated by taking total operating expenses (which includes Administrative expenses and Other expenses) and excluding items we do not consider representative of our core, ongoing operating performance. These excluded items are Stock-based compensation expense, Depreciation and amortization expense, and certain non-recurring expenses.
We believe Adjusted operating expense is a useful supplemental measure for investors, as it provides a clearer view of our operational efficiency by removing non-cash expenses (depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation) and other items not indicative of ongoing business trends. Management uses this measure to assess business performance and to plan for future periods.
Subscription, services & other revenue is a non-IFRS financial measure intended to provide a comprehensive view of our diverse revenue streams beyond core transaction fees and spreads. This measure includes revenue from lending and liquidity services, such as interest earned from third-party lending arrangements like credit line facilities and margin loans, interest on our own cash and stablecoins, fees from liquidity services and promotional income, and revenues from CoinDesk services such as sponsorships, event admissions, and index data licensing fees. It also incorporates the net income from DeFi protocols (excluding any fair value changes of the underlying digital assets). This non-IFRS measure is calculated by taking "Subscription and services revenue" (as reported within the "Other revenues") and adding "Net income from DeFi protocols, excluding the fair value change of underlying digital assets" (as reported within “Revaluation of digital assets held as investments”). By consolidating these various income sources, we believe this measure offers a more distinct view of the growth and performance of our service-oriented business lines, separate from our core transaction-based revenues.
Trading volume represents the notional value of trades, i.e., the product of the quantity of assets transacted and the trade price at the time the spot transaction was executed. The quantity represents the total U.S. dollar equivalent value of matched trades transacted between a buyer and seller through our platform during the period of measurement.
Average daily volume represents the total Trading volume for the applicable period divided by the number of trading days in such period.
Average trading spread represents total commissions earned from transactions on the Bullish Exchange for the period, expressed in basis points (bps) of the trading volume for the period. Management reviews this metric, which reflects the cost of trading on the Bullish Exchange, changes in fair value of perpetual futures, and rebates, for insight into the average revenue generated per unit of trading volume on our platform.
Gross liquid assets is defined as the sum of (i) Digital assets held?—?inventories, (ii) Digital assets held?—?intangible assets, (iii) Digital assets held?—?financial assets, (iv) Loans and other receivables?—?digital assets, (v) Investments in financial assets, and (vi) Cash and cash equivalents.
Net liquid assets is defined as Gross liquid assets, reduced by (i) Digital assets held —?inventories, (ii) the portion of Digital assets held —?financial assets on our Exchange, (iii) the portion of Cash and cash equivalents on our Exchange, (iv) Borrowings, (v) Borrowings from related parties, and (iv) Digital assets loan payable.
BULLISH
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF PROFIT OR LOSS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME/(LOSS) (UNAUDITED)
FOR THE THREE AND TWELVE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2025 AND 2024
(In thousands, except per share data)
Three months ended December 31,
Twelve months ended December 31,
2025
2024
2025
2024
Digital assets sales
$
64,345,078
$
66,026,131
$
244,811,387
$
250,201,282
Cost of digital assets derecognized
(64,323,568
)
(66,001,337
)
(244,733,087
)
(250,104,770
)
Other revenues
56,195
14,473
158,941
61,967
Change in fair value of digital assets held, net
(485,175
)
186,029
(674,968
)
207,043
Net spread related income and change in fair value of perpetual futures on the Exchange
(886
)
(3,228
)
(7,179
)
(17,139
)
Change in fair value of investment in financial assets
(105,555
)
27,369
(36,034
)
29,453
Administrative expenses
(46,276
)
(37,082
)
(182,188
)
(153,119
)
Other expenses
(14,392
)
(12,635
)
(60,425
)
(46,079
)
Finance expense
(14,932
)
(10,659
)
(52,369
)
(38,529
)
Change in fair value of derivatives
17,521
(12,867
)
9,609
(12,190
)
Change in fair value of financial liability at FVTPL
6,900
(13,950
)
(20,100
)
(43,350
)
Income/(loss) before income tax
$
(565,090
)
$
162,244
$
(786,413
)
$
84,569
Income tax benefit/(expense)
1,523
(3,782
)
944
(5,005
)
Net income/(loss)
$
(563,567
)
$
158,462
$
(785,469
)
$
79,564
Attributable to:
Owners of the Group
(546,598
)
157,033
(764,681
)
78,527
Non-controlling interests
(16,969
)
1,429
(20,788
)
1,037
Net income/(loss)
$
(563,567
)
$
158,462
$
(785,469
)
$
79,564
Other comprehensive income/(loss)
Items that will not be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss:
Revaluation of digital assets held as investments
(123,816
)
575,424
409,644
1,020,339
Fair value gain/(loss) on financial liabilities designated as at FVTPL attributable to changes in credit risk
1,350
(11,450
)
(3,050
)
(16,350
)
$
(122,466
)
$
563,974
$
406,594
$
1,003,989
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Foreign exchange differences on translation of foreign operations
41
(712
)
1,676
(712
)
Total comprehensive income/(loss)
$
(685,992
)
$
721,724
$
(377,199
)
$
1,082,841
Attributable to:
Owners of the Group
(695,383
)
714,757
(436,588
)
1,072,710
Non-controlling interests
9,391
6,967
59,389
10,131
Total comprehensive income/(loss)
$
(685,992
)
$
721,724
$
(377,199
)
$
1,082,841
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of basic and diluted earnings/(loss) per share
Basic
150,924
113,153
127,723
112,664
Diluted
150,924
115,889
127,723
115,400
Earnings/(Loss) per share
Basic
$
(3.73
)
$
1.40
$
(6.15
)
$
0.70
Diluted
$
(3.73
)
$
1.37
$
(6.15
)
$
0.68
BULLISH
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2025 AND DECEMBER 31, 2024
(In thousands)
December 31, 2025
December 31, 2024
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Goodwill
$
63,062
$
61,475
Other intangible assets
31,104
33,298
Property and equipment and right-of-use assets
28,369
14,118
Deferred tax assets
2,865
2,088
Other assets
21,311
22,087
Restricted cash
5,727
1,968
Total non-current assets
$
152,438
$
135,034
Current assets
Digital assets held - inventories
$
206,178
$
573,876
Digital assets held - intangible assets
1,537,071
1,878,268
Digital assets held - financial assets
1,037,915
132,649
Loan and other receivables - digital assets
446,481
166,388
Derivative financial instruments
—
—
Investments in financial assets
404,144
86,173
Other assets
47,502
21,209
Customer segregated cash
20,044
6,382
Restricted cash
16,839
15,893
Cash and cash equivalents
87,892
31,540
Total current assets
$
3,804,066
$
2,912,378
Total assets
$
3,956,504
$
3,047,412
LIABILITIES
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings from related parties
$
505,600
$
482,450
Convertible redeemable preference shares
—
47,879
Digital assets loan payable
5,267
20,613
Lease liabilities
14,378
10,756
Deferred tax liabilities
18
6
Other payables
3,000
—
Total non-current liabilities
$
528,263
$
561,704
Current liabilities
Customer segregated cash liabilities
$
20,044
$
6,382
Borrowings
49,982
25,000
Digital assets loan payable
334
—
Lease liabilities
5,524
4,246
Other payables
54,028
49,421
Total current liabilities
$
129,912
$
85,049
Total liabilities
$
658,175
$
646,753
Net assets
$
3,298,329
$
2,400,659
EQUITY
Share capital and share premium
$
5,110,063
$
3,821,537
Option premium on convertible redeemable preference shares
—
18,399
Reserves
774,224
858,797
Accumulated deficit
(2,656,325
)
(2,309,053
)
Total shareholders' equity attributable to the owners of the Group
$
3,227,962
$
2,389,680
Non-controlling interests
70,367
10,979
Total equity
$
3,298,329
$
2,400,659
Non-IFRS Measures Summarized
(In thousands)
Three Months Ended
Year Ended
December 31,
December 31,
December 31,
December 31,
2025
2024
2025
2024
Non-IFRS Financial Measures
Adjusted Transaction Revenue
$
37,929
$
40,996
$
130,739
$
153,247
Adjusted Revenue
92,508
55,183
288,455
213,912
Adjusted EBITDA
44,450
15,771
94,271
52,102
Adjusted Net Income
28,864
4,039
38,792
9,622
Adjusted Operating Expenses
48,058
39,411
194,184
161,795
Period ended
December 31,
December 31,
2025
2024
Gross Liquid Assets
$
3,719,681
$
2,868,894
Net Liquid Assets
2,859,701
1,696,127
Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures
(In thousands)
Three Months Ended
Year Ended
December 31,
December 31,
December 31,
December 31,
Adjusted Transaction Revenue and Adjusted Revenue
2025
2024
2025
2024
Digital assets sales
$
64,345,078
$
66,026,131
$
244,811,387
$
250,201,282
Digital asset sales on venues other than Exchange
(36,583
)
(2,124
)
(396,424
)
(21,821
)
Digital asset sales - on our Exchange
$
64,308,495
$
66,024,007
$
244,414,963
$
250,179,461
Cost of digital assets derecognized - on our Exchange
(64,286,992
)
(65,999,234
)
(244,336,500
)
(250,082,963
)
Change in fair value of digital assets inventories, arising from purchase of digital assets on our Exchange
15,670
18,662
56,031
71,685
Transaction income
1,642
789
3,424
2,203
Net spread related income and change in fair value of perpetual futures
(886
)
(3,228
)
(7,179
)
(17,139
)
Adjusted Transaction Revenue
$
37,929
$
40,996
$
130,739
$
153,247
Subscriptions and services revenue
54,554
13,684
155,517
59,764
Change in fair value of investment in financial assets
—
—
—
168
Revaluation of digital assets held as investments
25
503
2,199
733
Adjusted Revenue
$
92,508
$
55,183
$
288,455
$
213,912
Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income
Income/(loss)
$
(563,567
)
$
158,462
$
(785,469
)
$
79,564
Adjusted to exclude the following:
Digital asset sales on other venues
(36,583
)
(2,124
)
(396,424
)
(21,821
)
Cost of digital assets derecognized on other venues
36,576
2,103
396,586
21,807
Loss/(Gain) from changes in fair value of digital assets inventories net payable to customers
120,241
(131,742
)
208,577
(130,732
)
Income tax expense
(1,523
)
3,782
(944
)
5,005
Finance expenses
14,932
10,659
52,369
38,529
Employee share-based payment expenses
4,047
4,699
15,567
22,587
Other share-based payment expenses
628
—
628
—
Change in fair value of loan and other receivables - digital assets
64,268
(48,510
)
24,994
(43,676
)
Change in fair value of digital assets loan payable
(2,873
)
14,339
(15
)
14,449
Change in fair value of derivatives
(17,521
)
12,867
(9,609
)
12,191
Change in fair value of financial liability at FVTPL
(6,900
)
13,950
20,100
43,350
Change in fair value of investments in financial assets
105,555
(27,369
)
36,034
(29,286
)
Impairment losses of digital assets held - intangible assets
319,209
(1,454
)
497,443
24,601
Impairment of right-of-use assets
—
—
—
956
Non-recurring expenses
7,360
4,629
29,172
10,019
Depreciation and amortization
576
977
3,063
3,826
Adjusted to include the following:
Revaluation of digital assets held as investments
25
503
2,199
733
Adjusted EBITDA
$
44,450
$
15,771
$
94,271
$
52,102
Finance expenses
(14,932
)
(10,659
)
(52,369
)
(38,529
)
Depreciation and amortization
(576
)
(977
)
(3,063
)
(3,826
)
Tax effect of adjusted net income before taxes
(78
)
(96
)
(47
)
(125
)
Adjusted Net Income
$
28,864
$
4,039
$
38,792
$
9,622
Note - Figures presented may not sum precisely due to rounding.
Gross and Net Liquid Assets
(In thousands)
December 31, 2025
December 31, 2024
Digital assets held - inventories
$
206,178
$
573,876
Digital assets held - intangible assets
1,537,071
1,878,268
Digital assets held - financial assets (on Exchange)
84,993
67,526
Digital assets held - financial assets (off Exchange)
952,922
65,123
Loan and other receivable
446,481
166,388
Investments in financial assets
404,144
86,173
Cash and cash equivalents
87,892
31,540
Gross Liquid Assets
$
3,719,681
$
2,868,894
(-) Digital assets held - inventories
$
(206,178
)
$
(573,876
)
(-) Digital assets held - financial assets (on Exchange)
(84,993
)
(67,528
)
(-) Digital assets loan payable
(5,601
)
(20,613
)
(-) Borrowings
(49,982
)
(25,000
)
(-) Borrowings from related parties
(505,600
)
(482,450
)
(-) Cash on the Exchange
(7,626
)
(3,300
)
Net Liquid Assets
$
2,859,701
$
1,696,127
Note - Figures presented may not sum precisely due to rounding.
Reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Expense
(In thousands)
Three Months Ended
Year Ended
December 31,
December 31,
December 31,
December 31,
IFRS Core Operating Expense to Adjusted Operating Expense
2025
2024
2025
2024
IFRS Core Operating Expense
$
60,669
$
49,717
$
242,614
$
199,199
Adjusted for
Employee share-based compensation expense
4,047
4,699
15,567
22,587
Other share-based compensation expense
628
—
628
—
Non-recurring expenses - legal and professional fees
6,386
4,322
25,292
7,245
Non-recurring expenses - compensation and benefits
974
308
3,880
3,746
Depreciation and amortization expense
576
977
3,063
3,826
Adjusted Operating Expense
$
48,058
$
39,411
$
194,184
$
161,795
Note - Figures presented may not sum precisely due to rounding.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260205505526/en/
Media: media@bullish.com
Investor Relations: investors@bullish.com
Original: Bullish Reports Fourth Quarter 2025 Results
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