Crypto platform Bullish to buy Equiniti for $4.25 billion, building tokenized securities infrastructure

Bullish has agreed to buy transfer agent Equiniti for $4.25 billion, integrating a regulated registry that serves 2,500 companies and 20 million shareholders into its tokenization and trading stack. The deal aims to create an end-to-end issuer services platform (issuance, registry, compliance, secondary trading) to accelerate institutional-scale tokenized securities. Market impact: the transaction marks one of the largest crypto-linked M&A deals, underlining a broader consolidation trend as firms fill gaps in custody, payments and tokenization to win institutional flows. It could hasten adoption of tokenized equities, improve cap table visibility and settlement speeds, and raise competitive pressure on incumbents and crypto firms alike. The acquisition is expected to close in early 2027, pending regulatory approvals, and underscores recurring M&A activity that analysts say is reshaping crypto infrastructure toward durable revenue models.