Tanzeel Akhtar has been reporting on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology since 2015. Her work has appeared in leading publications including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CoinDesk, Bitcoin…
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), part of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has unveiled plans to develop a platform for trading and on-chain settlement of tokenized securities marking a step toward digitising core market infrastructure.
The exchange said it will seek regulatory approvals before launching the platform which is designed to support tokenized trading alongside traditional securities markets.
A Platform Built for 24/7 Tokenized Trading
NYSE’s proposed digital platform is designed to allow continuous 24/7 trading with near-instant settlement, orders denominated in dollar amounts and stablecoin-based funding.
The architecture combines the exchange’s Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based post-trade systems, allowing settlement and custody across multiple blockchains.
Subject to regulatory clearance the platform will be part of a new NYSE venue supporting both tokenized shares that are fungible with traditionally issued securities and tokens natively issued as digital securities. Tokenized shareholders would retain the same economic and governance rights as conventional shareholders, including dividends and voting rights.
Market Structure and Regulatory Alignment
NYSE said the venue has been designed to align with established principles of market structure, including non-discriminatory access for all qualified broker-dealers.
This approach shows the exchange’s intention to integrate tokenization within existing regulatory and operational frameworks rather than positioning it as a parallel, lightly regulated market.
By adding tokenized securities into a familiar exchange model NYSE aims to combine blockchain efficiencies with the protections and standards expected of a regulated U.S. exchange.
Tokenization as Part of ICE’s Broader Digital Strategy
The initiative forms part of ICE’s wider digital asset strategy, which includes preparing its clearing infrastructure to support round-the-clock trading and the potential use of tokenized collateral. ICE is working with banks including BNYand Citi to support tokenized deposits across its clearinghouses.
These efforts are intended to help clearing members manage funding outside traditional banking hours, meet margin requirements more efficiently and operate across jurisdictions and time zones with fewer frictions.
Industry Leaders Signal a Shift to On-Chain Infrastructure
“For more than two centuries, the NYSE has transformed the way markets operate,” said Lynn Martin, President of NYSE Group. She said the exchange is now leading the industry toward fully on-chain solutions that combine trust, regulatory rigor and modern technology.
Michael Blaugrund, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at ICE describes tokenized securities as a pivotal step toward operating fully on-chain market infrastructure spanning trading, settlement, custody and capital formation.
Currently ICE operates six clearinghouses globally — including the world’s largest energy clearinghouse and the largest for credit default swaps — has positioned the move as a continuation of its long-running push to modernize global financial markets for a digital era.
NYSE Owner ICE in Talks to Invest in MoonPay
In December it emerged ICE was negotiating an investment in crypto payments firm MoonPay as part of a funding round that could value the company at approximately $5 billion.
