Bullish Migrates Core Infrastructure to Solana for Faster, Cheaper Transactions

Bullish, a prominent digital asset exchange with over $1.4 trillion in cumulative trading volume, has announced a significant migration of its core infrastructure to Solana, a high-performance blockchain network renowned for its low-latency transaction processing and stablecoin ecosystem. This move marks a pivotal shift in the exchange's operations, as it will now power its custody, trading, settlement, and payment operations using Solana-native stablecoins. The announcement, made jointly by Bullish and the Solana Foundation, underscores the growing convergence between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Bullish's decision to integrate with Solana is part of a broader strategy to position itself at the intersection of centralized and decentralized finance. The exchange, which ranks among the top five for Bitcoin and Ether spot volumes, will prioritize Solana-native stablecoins for all transaction types across its trading stack. Tom Farley, CEO of Bullish, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating that Solana has proven itself as a reliable infrastructure for next-generation financial services, characterized by speed, efficiency, and institutional scalability. The migration is not merely symbolic; Bullish will leverage Solana to handle exchange operations and future innovations in digital asset product design. CoinDesk Data, part of the Bullish Group, will expand its coverage of Solana-based tokens and stablecoins, supporting the data infrastructure for the growing intersection of centralized exchanges (CeFi) and decentralized platforms (DeFi).

Unlike many crypto-native exchanges, Bullish has positioned itself within the regulatory perimeter, holding licenses in several regions, including Germany and Gibraltar. This regulatory clarity, combined with its deterministic liquidity protocol using an automated market maker (AMM) model optimized for institutional flow, makes Bullish a unique player in the digital asset space. The migration to Solana further validates the blockchain’s push into financial infrastructure, as Bullish becomes the most prominent regulated trading venue to adopt Solana for its operations. Lily Liu, President of the Solana Foundation, highlighted that Solana was built for moments where performance, scale, and real-world adoption converge.

In Q1 2025, Bullish reported over $2.5 billion in average daily volume, positioning it as a top-tier venue for institutional asset flow. The adoption of Solana-based settlement is expected to bring latency reduction, faster clearance times, and lower fees for clients transacting in stablecoins or tokenized assets. This partnership follows a series of enterprise integrations with Solana, including pilot programs by U.S. fintech firm Fiserv for real-time cross-border payments and the selection of Solana by R3, a blockchain software consortium, to support a regulated asset settlement layer for tokenized securities. Bullish’s integration accelerates what many analysts describe as a structural shift in the architecture of financial markets, moving towards faster, cheaper, and more unified on-chain infrastructure. Farley added that by building on Solana’s high-performance network, Bullish aims to simplify the user experience, reduce settlement friction, and unlock real efficiencies.

The Bullish–Solana integration highlights the maturing convergence between centralized financial service providers and the decentralized architecture envisioned by early blockchain pioneers. It signals that large-scale, regulated players no longer view public chains as experimental but as strategic pillars for the future of finance. For Bullish, this move cements its positioning as a forward-leaning, compliance-first exchange ready to power institutional access to the blockchain economy. For Solana, it is another signal that its core attributes—speed, composability, and scale—are resonating with real-world users beyond crypto-native circles.