Bullish (NYSE:BLSH) CEO Tom Farley said on Thursday that the company sees a significant growth opportunity in the trading of tokenized stocks.

Bullish’s Tokenization Push

During Bullish’s second-quarter earnings call, Farley said tokenization could turn out to be that “giant growth opportunity” no one saw coming, in contrast to traditional cryptocurrency assets.

Earlier this week, the firm announced that market participants executed trades of its tokenized BLSH stock on the Bullish exchange, settled against a dollar-pegged stablecoin.

These tokens are sponsored by the issuer and recorded at the registry level, so holders own the shares directly and enjoy the same legal status as conventional shareholders.

Bullish CEO Praises SEC

Farley also commended the SEC’s approach to providing clarity in this emerging market through the “innovation exemption” framework.

“I applaud the SEC for saying, ‘Hey, look, we want there to be perfect clarity here because we’re not going to engage in regulation by enforcement,'” the CEO said. “We’re not going to catch you with the rearview mirror when it wasn’t abundantly clear exactly how you would approach this market.”

The SEC intends to help the market develop with what Farley referred to as “safe harbors,” providing clear guidelines on how to approach tokenization.

“So that’s kind of the backdrop of that, and they’re taking their time rolling it out,” he added. “This is the kind of thing—I’d rather it come out and be good than come out and be quick.”

The SEC was said to be preparing to release its “innovation exemption” for trading tokenized stocks on Friday. However, the plan has been "delayed," with details expected to remain under wraps for now.

Bullish Q2 Earnings

Bullish reported adjusted revenue of $92.6 million, exceeding analyst consensus estimates of $87.81 million and representing a 62% year-over-year increase. Adjusted net income came in at $14.3 million, or 9 cents per share, slightly under consensus expectations of 10 cents.

Bullish, backed by billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, opened to a blockbuster debut in August of last year. It operates a cryptocurrency exchange geared to institutional clients and also owns CoinDesk, a prominent cryptocurrency media and data brand.

Price Action:  Shares of Bullish surged 0.11% in premarket trading after closing 11.57% higher at $27.48 during Thursday’s regular trading session, according to data from Benzinga Pro. 

Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate short- and medium-term weakness in BLSH stock, while the long-term outlook remains positive.

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