The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday announced plans to introduce an around the clock blockchain-based tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds trading venue later this year.
NYSE executives said the project will use their technology to match buyers and sellers, combined with private blockchain networks, to enable real-time tokenized securities trading. The new platform will enable tokenized trading experiences, including 24/7 operations, instant settlement, orders sized in dollar amounts, and stablecoin-based funding.
“Supporting tokenized securities is a pivotal step in ICE's strategy to operate onchain market infrastructure for trading, settlement, custody, and capital formation in the new era of global finance,” said Michael Blaugrund, vice president of strategic initiatives, at the Intercontinental Exchange Inc., which owns the NYSE.
The platform will power a new NYSE venue that supports trading of tokenized shares fungible with traditionally issued securities as well as tokens natively issued as digital securities, it said in the press release. Tokenized shareholders will participate in traditional shareholder dividends and governance rights. The venue is designed to align with established principles for market structure, with distribution via non-discriminatory access to all qualified broker-dealers.
The company said it is currently seeking approval for the 24/7 trading platform from regulators with plans to launch later this year.
The rollout of the NYSE’s tokenized securities platform is one component of ICE’s broader digital strategy, which includes preparing its clearing infrastructure to support 24/7 trading and the potential integration of tokenized collateral.
ICE said it is currently working with banks including BNY (NYSE: BK) and Citi (NYSE: C) to support tokenized deposits across ICE’s clearinghouses to help clearing members transfer and manage money outside of traditional banking hours, meet margin obligations, and accommodate funding requirements over different jurisdictions and time zones.
NYSE’s main competitor in the US, Nasdaq, which in December, revealed it was planning to facilitate nearly round-the-clock trading for stocks and exchange traded products (ETPs), in a bid to match the increasingly global nature of financial markets and investor behavior.