Steve Ellis stepped down as Bullish's chief financial officer on May 28, 2024. The exchange's press release said the change took effect immediately1. David Bonanno succeeded him. Bonanno had served as Bullish's chief strategy officer for the prior two years. Crowdfund Insider reported the exit the next day, May 29, 2024, quoting the same release word for word2.
Four leadership moves at Bullish on the record since 2024
Every move CryptoLately has verified there, by the day it became public
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 28, 2024 | Bonanno became CFO. David Bonanno was named Chief Financial Officer of Bullish |
| May 28, 2024 | Ellis left as CFO. Steve Ellis left as Chief Financial Officer of Bullish |
| March 13, 2025 | Tyrer became President of Bullish Exchange. Chris Tyrer was named President of Bullish Exchange of Bullish |
| July 13, 2026 | Cowan became Head of Tokenization. Thomas Cowan was named Head of Tokenization of Bullish |
11 executive exits on the record in 2024
Executive exits CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2024: 11
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 6 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 9 |
| 2022 | 9 |
| 2023 | 8 |
| 2024 | 11 |
| 2025 | 20 |
| 2026 | 27 |
The move
Tom Farley, Bullish's chief executive, paired the thank-you to Ellis with the announcement of his successor. He did it in a single statement. “I also want to extend my deepest gratitude to Steve for his significant contributions since Bullish's inception. His leadership has been critical, and we are grateful he will continue to support us during this transition,” said Tom Farley1. The release left Ellis's reason for leaving and his next role unstated2. Farley's statement named Ellis and Bonanno as "visionary leaders at Bullish" in the statement that confirmed the handoff.
Bullish before and after
The release said Bullish had executed more than $1.8 billion in average daily trading volume in 2024. It had surpassed $585 billion in total trading volume since the exchange's November 2021 launch1. Bonanno's background included prior chief financial officer roles at two publicly traded companies. He had spent more than a decade in the asset management industry, which the release said would help him "oversee all of Bullish's finance functions". The same announcement named Chris Tyrer as a new vice president and head of strategy, joining from Fidelity.
What the record shows
Bullish's May 28, 2024 release and Crowdfund Insider's May 29, 2024 report leave out what Ellis did after leaving the chief financial officer post, and whether the "transition" support Farley described had an end date12. A Google News search on October 3, 2026, looked for a later page on Ellis after Bullish. That search returned the May 2024 reports on this change and pages about Chainlink co-founder Steve Ellis, a different person.
Sources
- Bullish Group, "Bullish announces key leadership changes," May 28, 2024, https://www.bullish.com/hk/news-insights/bullish-announces-key-leadership-changes
- Omar Faridi, "Digital Assets Exchange Bullish Announces Key Leadership Changes," Crowdfund Insider, May 29, 2024, https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2024/05/225693-digital-assets-exchange-bullish-announces-key-leadership-changes/