Share this article

Bullish Gets a New $55 Price Target from KBW With U.S. Entry Seen as Key Catalyst

The bank assumed coverage of the crypto exchange with a market perform rating and a $55 price target.

Updated Sep 15, 2025, 2:26 p.m. Published Sep 15, 2025, 2:03 p.m.
Crypto exchange Bullish goes public on the New York Stock Exchange. (CoinDesk/Nik De)
Bullish well positioned to grow market share; initiate at market perform: KBW. (CoinDesk/Nik De)

What to know:

  • KBW started new coverage of Bullish stock with a market perform rating and a $55 target, citing strong regulatory footing and near-term U.S. expansion as growth drivers.
  • Data, index, and liquidity services are on track to contribute over 40% of revenue by FY27, reducing reliance on transaction volume.
  • Competitive fees and deep liquidity position allow Bullish to capture institutional share, with BitLicense approval a key catalyst, the bank said.

Investment bank KBW initiated coverage of Bullish (BLSH), CoinDesk's owner, with a market perform rating and a $55 price target, calling the stock a rare public play on a highly regulated, institution-first crypto exchange.

The bank sees near-term U.S. expansion as a catalyst for growth, with Bullish’s differentiated tech stack, competitive fees and deep liquidity positioning it to gain market share.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters

Bullish’s regulatory footprint, with licenses in Germany (MiCAR compliant), Hong Kong and Gibraltar, has drawn institutional traders and enabled a global order book linking Asian and European markets, analyst Bill Papanastasiou wrote.

KBW also highlighted Bullish’s work with Gibraltar regulators on a fully crypto-enabled clearinghouse as a sign of its credibility as a market infrastructure provider.

Beyond trading, Bullish has diversified its revenues through the acquisitions of CoinDesk and CCData, building recurring streams from data, indices and liquidity services, which KBW expects these to make up over 40% of revenue by FY27. The CoinDesk platform also offers optionality to reach retail users, which carry higher margins.

The bank sees U.S. market share gains ahead thanks to Bullish’s lower take rates (1.6bps vs. ~3bps for Coinbase) and strong liquidity.

A New York BitLicense approval remains a key milestone, but KBW expects a national rollout regardless.

While valuation keeps the rating neutral for now, the analyst noted upside potential if Bullish executes on its expansion plans and capitalizes on retail engagement.

The shares were trading flat at around $51.81 at the time of publishing.

Read more: Wall Street Sees U.S. Entry as Catalyst for Bullish’s Next Leg Up

AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.

More For You

Protocol Research: GoPlus Security

GP Basic Image

What to know:

  • As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
  • GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
  • Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.

More For You

Bitcoin, Ether Steady as AI Fears Send Oracle Tumbling Down, Traders Next Wave of Rate Cuts

Traders "sell the news" following Fed cut (TheDigitalArtist/Pixabay)

Traders appeared more focused on preserving trend structure than chasing upside, with flows concentrated in large-cap assets.

What to know:

  • U.S. stocks declined as Oracle's significant drop raised concerns about AI spending outpacing returns.
  • Bitcoin and Ether showed stability, with Bitcoin trading above $92,000 and Ether climbing toward $3,260.
  • Oracle's increased capital expenditures on AI infrastructure led to its biggest stock drop since January, impacting tech sentiment.