Bullish, the institutional-focused cryptocurrency exchange backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, heads into its second-quarter earnings report with Wall Street seeing significant upside
Bullish, the institutional-focused cryptocurrency exchange backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, heads into its second-quarter earnings report with Wall Street seeing significant upside despite a difficult quarter for crypto trading businesses.
The company is scheduled to report results before the U.S. market opens on Aug. 13, exactly one year after its blockbuster stock-market debut.
Wall Street analysts expect Bullish to report adjusted earnings of $0.09 per share and roughly $87.4 million in revenue, according to Yahoo Finance data.
Revenue is projected to rise about 53% from a year earlier, though the consensus earnings estimate has slipped from $0.15 about three months ago.
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FactSet data cited by The Wall Street Journal shows five analysts with "Buy" ratings and six at "Hold," with an average price target of $40.75, roughly 66% above the recent share price of about $24.60.
Citi's Peter Christiansen reiterated a "Buy" on July 28, though he cut his target to $50 from $65. Clear Street's Owen Lau initiated coverage with a "Buy" and a $40 target on July 24, and Deutsche Bank's Brian Bedell holds the most bullish target among recent calls, maintaining a "Buy" on May 15 while trimming his to $61 from $63.
Supporters point to Bullish's institutional client base, its fast-growing derivatives business, and an early push into tokenization and stablecoins.
However, JPMorgan has stayed on the sidelines with a "Neutral" rating and cut its price target this year.
For context, Bullish is a digital-asset exchange aimed largely at institutional traders, offering both spot and derivatives trading. It is led by CEO Tom Farley, a former president of the New York Stock Exchange, and is backed by Thiel's venture firm Founders Fund, BlackRock and Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management also bought into its IPO.
It also owns CoinDesk, the long-running crypto news publication.
Bullish acquired CoinDesk in November 2023 from Digital Currency Group — which had put the publication up for sale after the bear market battered its parent — in an all-cash deal reported at around $75 million. CoinDesk continues to operate as an independent subsidiary.
Bullish's Aug. 13, 2025 IPO was one of the year's hottest. It priced at $37 a share — above its expected range, then opened at $90, spiked as high as $118 (triggering a volatility halt), and closed its first day up more than 80% near $68. A year later, the stock sits around $24.60, well below both its IPO price and its debut close, as the crypto downturn cooled the frenzy around newly public digital-asset names.
Bullish reports after a punishing stretch for the industry, as falling digital-asset prices squeezed both trading activity and balance sheets.
The exchange handled $130.7 billion in total spot and derivatives volume in the quarter ended June 30, down 33% from the prior quarter.
Coinbase reported a $359.5 million net loss for the second quarter as softer markets weighed on its business. And Strategy, the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder, booked an $8.32 billion unrealized loss on its Bitcoin as prices fell, driving an $8.22 billion net loss for the quarter.
Bullish itself entered Q2 on the back foot, having missed Wall Street expectations in the first quarter: its adjusted earnings of $0.13 per share came in below the $0.17 estimate.
Bullish shares were trading around $24.47 at the time of writing, down roughly 0.5% on the day.
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