Просто добавьте точки цвета к вашему градиенту
background-image: radial-gradient(circle, white 20%, transparent 20%, transparent);
#scroll-bullets {
width: 100px;
background-color: blue;
padding: 20px;
}
.sbn ul {
list-style: none;
text-align: center;
}
.sbn ul li {
display: block;
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.sbn ul li a {
display: block;
width: 10px;
height: 10px;
font-size: 0;
text-indent: 100%;
white-space: nowrap;
overflow: hidden;
outline: none;
box-sizing: border-box;
transition: .2s ease-in-out;
}
.sbn05 ul li a {
background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, .5);
border-radius: 50%;
}
.sbn05 ul li a.is-active,
.sbn05 ul li a:hover {
background-image: radial-gradient(circle, white 20%, transparent 20%, transparent);
transform: scale(2);
}
<div id="scroll-bullets" class="sbn sbn05">
<ul>
<li><a data-scroll id="bullet1" class="is-active" href="#sec-1"><span class="inner-bullet"></span></a></li>
<li><a data-scroll id="bullet2" href="#who"><span class="inner-bullet"></span></a></li>
<li><a data-scroll id="bullet3" href="#why"><span class="inner-bullet"></span></a></li>
<li><a data-scroll id="bullet4" href="#"><span class="inner-bullet"></span></a></li>
<li><a data-scroll id="bullet5" href="#"><span class="inner-bullet"></span></a></li>
</ul>
</div>