09-25-2026 
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TL;DR: NYSE and Blockchain.com are partnering to explore 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks and ETFs, as regulators prepare U.S. markets for broader blockchain adoption. The SEC’s tokenization framework could bring extended trading hours, while the CFTC is preparing for “mass tokenization,” but says not every asset class is ready for round-the-clock markets.
Key Takeaways:
- NYSE, Blockchain.com ink tokenization pact to explore access to tokenized stocks and ETFs through NYSE’s proposed digital trading system.
- NYSE and Blockchain.com plan broader data integration, potentially connecting NYSE and ICE market data with Blockchain.com’s 44 million accounts.
- Markets brace for 24/7 trading may cause teeth problems, including thinner overnight liquidity, wider spreads, greater volatility, and heavier reliance on automated systems.
- The CFTC is preparing markets for “mass tokenization,” including blockchain-based records, tokenized collateral, and broader real-world asset applications.
The intersection of Wall Street and blockchain technology is getting increasingly crowded, with ‘mass tokenization’ of publicly traded stocks taking up all the parking spaces.
On September 23, NYSE Group Inc. (NYSE), the operator of the New York Stock Exchange, announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with digital asset platform Blockchain.com. The tie-up will provide Blockchain.com users with access to tokenized exchange-listed equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) via the NYSE’s proposed digital alternative trading system (ATS).
The MOU also envisions a day when the two firms enjoy “bidirectional market distribution” across their respective platforms. NYSE’s Ice Data Services will distribute Blockchain.com’s crypto market data and analytics to its subscribing clients, while Blockchain.com will add ICE and NYSE exchange data feeds into its app for its 44 million accounts to peruse.
Cue the mutual backscratching: Blockchain.com CEO Peter Smith said tokenized stocks will reach a wider audience previously limited by “where they happen to live or the brokerage and information they may or may not have access to. Connecting to the NYSE digital ATS will enable us to extend the opportunity to invest in these digital assets to tens of millions of Blockchain.com users around the world.”
NYSE Group president Lynn Martin said Blockchain.com’s “international footprint and digital asset expertise make it a natural complement to our tokenized securities platform upon launch.”
The deal is by no means the first of its type. In March, the Nasdaq exchange struck a similar tokenization deal with Payward, parent company of the Kraken digital asset exchange. The companies said they were building an “equities transformation gateway that connects tokenized equity capital markets with decentralized blockchain networks.” The tokenized stocks would use Kraken’s xStocks framework to travel between institutional markets and permissionless decentralized finance (DeFi) systems.
The NYSE-Blockchain.com deal follows last week’s announcement by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Paul Atkins detailing the regulator’s long-awaited ‘innovation exemption’ for tokenized securities. The plan is to allow authorized Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs) to trade tokenized versions of publicly traded stocks 24/7.
The ‘exemption’ will last five years, during which all eyes will be on how this train might run off its rails. TSV’s looking to tokenize a stock will be required to send written notice of their intentions to the stock issuer, after which a 30-day window opens in which the issuer can object in writing to the TSV. If the issuer objects, the TSV can’t offer those tokenized shares to its customers. There doesn’t appear to be any recourse for issuers who fail to object within that 30-day window.
We’ve already seen examples of this friction play out in the real world, including the recent dust-up between movie theater chain AMC Entertainment (NASDAQ: AMC) and the Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) trading platform. Expect more of these kinds of feuds as both sides of this game try to figure out the new rules.
On September 12, SEC commissioner Hester Peirce appeared on the Coinage podcast, where she acknowledged the highly public tiff between the AMC and Robinhood CEOs but said she’d “stay away from that particular engagement.”
Humans might not be ready for 24/7 trading
Peirce and SEC Crypto Task Force chief counsel Taylor Lindman spoke with the Crypto in America podcast this week, offering details on how this brave new world might arrive. Lindman said he expects “a bit of a lag time” before the first companies begin filing their SEC paperwork regarding their TSV intentions, but he expects the first filings to arrive “in the next quarter.”
The day before Atkins unveiled the tokenization plan, Peirce participated in a roundtable discussion at SEC headquarters intended to prepare market participants for what was coming.
In her opening remarks, Peirce noted that many market participants had expressed “ambivalence about the shift to extended hours trading.” Participants had concerns that extended trading hours would result in thinner overnight order books, wider spreads, increased price volatility, the need to compress back-office operations into a single hour each night, and much more.
Concerns also extended to trades conducted when far fewer humans are monitoring this activity, a shift that will require greater investment in and reliance on automated systems. Clearly, artificial intelligence (AI), which is making significant inroads into the world of digital payments, will play a prominent role in this transition.
But Peirce noted that other systems, like foreign exchange, already operate around the clock. South Korea’s main stock exchange is taking steps to extend trading hours to encourage more international access. And “crypto markets certainly do not sleep.” So snooze, and you lose.
CFTC says don’t you forget about us
While the SEC takes the lead on securities-based activities, its bid to incorporate digital asset technology into America’s financial system is getting a strong assist from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
On Thursday, the CFTC issued updated FAQs Concerning Registrant and Registered Entity Activities Relating to Crypto Assets and Blockchain Technologies. The update focuses on “investments of customer funds in tokenized forms of permitted investments and the use of blockchain technologies to satisfy a registrant’s recordkeeping requirements.”
The updates are intended to answer questions arising from a pilot program announced last December that expanded the category of eligible collateral to include BTC, ETH, and the USDC stablecoin issued by Circle (NASDAQ: CRCL). There are also a few bookkeeping tweaks, including allowing CFTC licensees to use blockchain tech to “create and maintain onchain records and satisfy [their] recordkeeping obligations.”
Earlier this week, CFTC chair Michael Selig gave a keynote address to the U.S. Treasury Market Conference in Washington. Selig said global derivatives markets, including the Treasury market, are “fundamentally different from the market we knew two decades ago. And that means the CFTC must be different as well … we cannot simply modernize yesterday’s markets. We have to prepare for tomorrow’s.”
This preparation will include “readying our markets for mass tokenization, tailoring legacy frameworks so that innovative technologies, such as blockchains and artificial intelligence, can be adopted at scale.” Selig singled out tokenization of real‑world assets (RWA) for its potential to “make liquidity more dynamic and markets more resilient.”
Selig believes blockchain and tokenized assets “could become the foundation of a more efficient financial system … one that enables near‑instantaneous settlement and real‑time collateral mobility across clearinghouses, intermediaries, and end users.”
The CFTC envisions a key role for stablecoins in this financial update, beyond the use of eligible tokenized collateral. Selig said the CFTC is “committed to finding additional ways to encourage responsible stablecoin adoption for market participants, exchanges, and clearinghouses.”
As the SEC prepares securities markets for 24/7 trading, the CFTC is also mulling changes to derivative market operating hours. But Selig said not all markets “are ready to make that change today.”
As such, the CFTC isn’t planning “a one‑size‑fits‑all approach to 24/7 trading. While certain asset classes, such as crypto or precious metals, may currently be suitable for 24/7 trading, others, like agricultural products, energy, and certain financials, may not.”
Selig summed up by saying all of the above means “the next decade will likely bring more change to financial markets than the previous several decades combined. If the question is, will the United States continue leading in these markets, then I say, yes, we will.”
FAQs:
What is the NYSE and Blockchain.com deal?
NYSE and Blockchain.com signed an MOU to explore access to tokenized stocks and ETFs through NYSE’s proposed digital trading system.
What are tokenized stocks?
Tokenized stocks are digital representations of publicly traded shares recorded on a blockchain. They are designed to make securities easier to trade digitally and potentially enable access beyond traditional brokerage systems.
Will tokenized stocks trade 24/7?
The SEC’s framework is designed to support 24/7 trading of tokenized securities through authorized venues.
What are the risks of 24/7 stock trading?
Extended trading could mean thinner order books, wider spreads, and greater volatility.
What does the CFTC mean by “mass tokenization”?
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said regulators must prepare for blockchain adoption at scale across financial markets. He highlighted tokenized real-world assets, blockchain-based records, and tokenized collateral as key areas.
Will every market trade 24/7?
Not necessarily. The CFTC does not support a one-size-fits-all approach.
Watch | Tokenization on Public Blockchain: Transforming RWAs and Finance
