From NYSE to Crypto: The Next Financial Revolution | Raoul Pal The Journey Man with Tom Farley

Apr 9, 2026

Tom Farley, former NYSE president and current CEO of Bullish, brings exchange and market-structure chops. He discusses moving legacy markets to electronic systems, building institutional-first crypto infrastructure, liquidity-as-a-service and market-maker onboarding, tokenization of assets, and how regulation and market structure will drive institutional adoption.

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ANECDOTE

Early Coinbase Bet Sparked By Porch Conversation

Tom Farley invested ~$10–11M in early Coinbase after a neighbor explained blockchain and its potential to disintermediate finance.
That early board seat let him watch Coinbase grow and cemented his conviction despite being “12 years too early.”

INSIGHT

Institutional First Exchange With AMM In Order Book

Bullish pursued an institutional-first exchange combining AMM tech inside a central limit order book and global compliance outside the US.
The strategy targeted institutions with audits, headquarters and regulatory approvals to be ready when institutional adoption returns.

INSIGHT

Crypto Institutional Volume Is Highly Concentrated

Bullish serves market makers, retail-facing brokers, and OTC desks via API-first infrastructure focused on determinism and low latency.
Institutional volumes remain concentrated: ~100 firms likely account for 95% of institutional crypto volume on a typical day.

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Raoul welcomes back Tom Farley, CEO of Bullish, to break down how his journey from running the NYSE to leading Bullish shaped his conviction that crypto’s next phase is institutional, driven by regulation, liquidity, and market structure. Tom argues that tokenization and blockchain-based finance will transform global markets by improving efficiency, access, and capital formation, despite regulatory hurdles and slow adoption. Recorded April 6, 2026. Today's Episode is brought to you by Figure Markets. (https://figuremarkets.co/realvision ) Need liquidity without selling your crypto? Take out a Figure Crypto-Backed Loan , allowing you to borrow against your BTC, ETH, or SOL with 12-month terms, 8% interest rates, and no prepayment penalties. Or check out Democratized Prime and earn ~9% APY on RWAs. Unlock your crypto’s potential today at Figure and claim your $50! https://figuremarkets.co/realvision Disclosures Figure Lending LLC dba Figure. Equal Opportunity Lender. NMLS 1717824. Terms and conditions apply. This May 5–7, join Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal at Consensus Miami with 20,000+ decision-makers from the White House, Wall Street, and Web3. From crypto at scale to institutional integration and agentic commerce, the conversations shaping what’s next happen here. Save 20% with code RAOUL at consensus.coindesk.com. Abra provides custody, trading, yield and BTC-backed loan products for digital assets for HNW and corporate clients. Abra provides full service treasury management for digital asset treasuries and corporations. Buy and hold digital assets in segregated accounts with multi-sig security. Abra is hosting a webinar on April 9. Sign up here [www.realvision.com/abrawebinar]

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