Big board plans blockchain venue for tokenized stocks

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is building a blockchain-based trading venue that would allow investors to buy and sell tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds around the clock, marking the latest push by Wall Street’s biggest exchange into digital markets.

NYSE, owned by Intercontinental Exchange Inc., plans to combine its existing order-matching technology with private blockchain networks to enable real-time trading, funding and settlement of tokenized securities, according to executives. The exchange is aiming to launch the new digital platform later this year, pending approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Michael Blaugrund, vice president of strategic initiatives at ICE, told Bloomberg that the move allows for new types of investor accessibility and creates “new opportunities for retail to participate in the stablecoin-funded markets that have attracted their attention.”

Unlike traditional equity markets, where trades typically settle the following day, the proposed venue would allow transactions to be funded and settled in real time. That infrastructure, Blaugrund said, is designed to meet growing investor demand for markets that never close.

Tokenized securities are digital representations of stocks or funds recorded on a blockchain rather than held in conventional brokerage accounts. Proponents argue that tokenization could deepen liquidity, enable fractional ownership and broaden access to U.S. markets by allowing trading at any hour of the day.

NYSE’s initiative goes beyond extended trading hours and touches on more foundational questions about how securities are defined, issued and settled—issues that could determine whether tokenization becomes embedded in the plumbing of Wall Street. NYSE is the largest equities exchange operator in the U.S. by trading volume.

SEC green light still needed

The exchange is in active discussions with the SEC as it seeks permission to operate the new platform, Blaugrund said. Regulators’ response will be closely watched across the industry as traditional exchanges and digital-asset firms alike push for clearer rules around tokenized assets.

The move also puts NYSE in closer competition with Nasdaq, which in September asked regulators to allow tokenized versions of stocks to trade on its public exchange. Nasdaq proposed that tokenized securities follow the same execution and disclosure rules as their underlying shares and be clearly labeled as tokenized assets.

NYSE has already taken steps toward longer trading days. Its Arca equities venue has outlined plans to offer trading for 22 hours on weekdays, a proposal that received initial SEC approval in February, subject to upgrades to market data feeds.

The new digital venue could represent another step toward non-stop trading, while helping bridge traditional financial markets and blockchain-based infrastructure. ICE is also exploring new clearing systems to support 24/7 trading and working with banks on tokenized deposits that could allow money to move outside traditional banking hours.

Skeptics caution that while the technology may change, the underlying risks tied to lending, leverage and market volatility remain the same—and that widespread adoption will depend on winning over regulators, institutional investors and market participants wary of operational and systemic risks.

Still, if approved, NYSE’s blockchain venue would mark one of the most significant moves yet by a major U.S. exchange to bring tokenization into the heart of Wall Street—and closer to a future where markets never sleep.