Crypto Currents: Bullish secures New York BitLicense from NYDFS

As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies see major legal, institutional, and technological developments, the financial landscape continues to adapt. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with the “Crypto Currents” weekly from The Fly. Also, join us for your essential daily recap, every day at 2 PM ET on FlyCast radio.

BULLISH SECURES NEW YORK BITLICENSE: Bullish (BLSH) announced Wednesday that its U.S. digital asset trading and custody business, Bullish US Operations, has been granted a BitLicense and Money Transmission License by the New York State Department of Financial Services. The license, officially defined as a ‘Virtual Currency Business Activity License’ by the NYDFS, allows Bullish to provide institutions and advanced traders in New York State digital asset spot trading and custody services.

“New York is widely recognized as being at the forefront of virtual currency regulation. Receiving our BitLicense and Money Transmission License from the New York Department of Financial Services is a testament to Bullish’s commitment to regulatory compliance and our dedication to building trusted, institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure in key global markets,” said Tom Farley, CEO. “As a former President of the New York Stock Exchange and a proud New Yorker, I look forward to Bullish’s contribution to the city’s thriving financial ecosystem.”

The company also reported second quarter results on Wednesday with earnings per share of 93c on revenue of $57M, which compared to analyst estimates of a loss per share of (5c) on revenue of $ 55.8M. Bullish also guided to Q3 adjusted revenue of $69M-$76M and adjusted EBITDA of $25M-$28M.

Farley said, “We are pleased with our results for the quarter – we saw exciting liquidity services growth, executed on a successful Consensus conference, and prepared for what would be a successful IPO. We’re excited that the work we did in the second quarter is already directly contributing to strong business momentum in the third quarter and beyond. Our recent receipt of the prestigious New York DFS Bitlicense is testament to our institutional rigor and truly global reach.”

Following the report, Citi raised the firm’s price target on Bullish to $70 from $66 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm cited the company’s solid Q2 results and business momentum.

Compass Point also raised the firm’s price target on Bullish to $56 from $45 and kept a Neutral rating on the shares. The company announced the NYDFS approval and issued a strong Q3 outlook that is well above Street forecasts, the analyst said. The firm cited Bullish’s faster U.S. expansion for the target increase.

Additionally, Rosenblatt raised the firm’s price target on Bullish to $62 from $60 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm views the company’s first quarterly earnings report as a “significant catalyst” for the stock, with a key regulatory approval in New York and initial guidance. Bullish’s upside in stablecoins is bringing sales upside and the company “appears to be just getting started on this rapidly-unfolding opportunity,” the analyst said.

Cantor Fitzgerald raised the firm’s price target on Bullish to $59 from $56 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. Cantor believes Bullish’s first quarter as a public company was a success, the analyst said. Bullish remains well-positioned to benefit from the institutionalization of crypto, acting as a mission-critical provider of services to crypto project, the firm added.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan raised the firm’s price target on Bullish to $63 from $50 and kept a Neutral rating on the shares. The company’s fiscal Q2 results were slightly better than expected and the Q3 guidance for the subscription/services business is triple the Q4 actual, the analyst said. JPMorgan cited Bullish’s execution risk around the U.S. buildout and the 20% move in the stock over the last few days for its continued Neutral rating.

STRATEGY BUYS MORE BITCOIN: In a Monday regulatory filing, Strategy (MSTR) disclosed that the company acquired 525 bitcoin for an aggregate purchase price of $60.2M during the period of September 8 to September 14. The company’s aggregate bitcoin holdings amount to 638,985 as of September 14, the filing stated.

On Tuesday, TD Cowen lowered the firm’s price target on Strategy to $620 from $640 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said Strategy printed another all-preferred week of capital markets activity, which suggests that as market demand for bitcoin-backed credit instruments is growing, management views its common stock as undervalued relative to the price of bitcoin. Cowen concurs and believes the shares’ current roughly 50% premium to bitcoin holdings undervalues expected BTC Yield, not to mention embedded operating leverage.

KRAKEN, CIRCLE PARTNER FOR USDC, EURC ACCESS: Kraken announced Wednesday it has partnered with an affiliate of Circle Internet Group (CRCL). Together, the two companies will expand access to and the utility of USDC and EURC on the Kraken platform to accelerate the next wave of onchain financial applications. The two companies are committed to accelerating the responsible growth of stablecoins as core infrastructure for the new internet financial system. As part of this partnership, Kraken clients gain access to increased liquidity, reduced conversion fees, and new opportunities to deploy USDC across Kraken’s applications. Kraken will also introduce access to EURC, Circle’s fully reserved euro stablecoin.

“We’re focused on building the world’s largest, most widely used stablecoin network, and partnering with leading platforms, like Kraken, to drive new opportunities for onchain finance,” said Kash Razzaghi, Circle CCO. “Expanding access to Circle’s products across Kraken’s established ecosystem can help extend the benefits of stablecoins to their millions of users.”

CME TO LAUNCH OPTIONS ON SOLANA, XRP FUTURES: CME Group (CME) announced Wednesday plans to launch options on Solana and XRP futures on October 13, pending regulatory review. With the launch of these new products, clients will have the ability to trade options on SOL, Micro SOL, XRP, and Micro XRP futures, with expiries available every day of the business week, every month and every quarter.

“The launch of these options contracts builds on the significant growth and increasing liquidity we have seen across our suite of Solana and XRP futures,” said Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products. “Available in two different sizes, these contracts will offer a wide range of market participants – from institutions to sophisticated, active, individual traders – additional choice and greater flexibility to manage their exposure to two market-leading cryptocurrencies.”

BITDEER LAUNCHES SEALMINER A3 SERIES: Bitdeer Technologies Group (BTDR) announced Tuesday the launch of its newest self-developed bitcoin mining machines, the SEALMINER A3 series. The latest iteration of the SEALMINER, the A3 series, includes four models: the air-cooling models, A3 Air and A3 Pro Air, and the hydro-cooling models, A3 Hydro and A3 Pro Hydro. Notably, the SEALMINER A3 Pro Hydro stands out with a hashrate of 660 TH/s.

OTHER CRYPTO NEWS:

• Coinbase (COIN) price target raised to $300 from $267 at Mizuho
• Forward Industries (FORD) buys 6.82M SOL tokens for $1.58B
• Bakkt Holdings (BKKT) acquires bitcoin.co.jp domain, eliminates long-term debt
• Hut 8 (HUT) price target raised to $60 from $31 at Roth Capital
• IREN (IREN) price target raised to $42 from $37 at Canaccord
• Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) reports crypto, cash holdings of $10.8B
• Semler Scientific (SMLR) price target lowered to $80 from $95 at Maxim

CRYPTO STOCK PLAYS: Publicly traded companies in the space include Bit Digital (BTBT), Coinbase, Core Scientific (CORZ), Greenidge Generation (GREE), Mara Holdings (MARA), Strategy, Riot Platforms (RIOT) and TeraWulf (WULF).

PRICE ACTION: As time of writing, bitcoin rose roughly 1% this week to $116,475 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk.