Blockchain.com and NYSE explore 24/7 trading of tokenized US stocks

Blockchain.com and NYSE Group have signed an agreement to explore giving eligible users access to tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs through the exchange's planned 24/7 digital trading venue.

Summary

• The proposed access would use NYSE's planned platform and requires regulatory approval.
• NYSE says the venue is designed for continuous trading, fractional shares, and onchain settlement.
• The agreement also covers crypto data for ICE clients and stock data for Blockchain.com users.
• Blockchain.com already offers Ondo-linked tokenized U.S. stocks to eligible users in Europe.

According to Blockchain.com's Sep. 23 announcement, the companies signed a memorandum of understanding covering distribution of tokenized U.S. exchange-listed shares and exchange-traded funds. Eligible Blockchain.com customers would access the products through a digital alternative trading system, or ATS, that NYSE has yet to launch. The arrangement remains subject to required regulatory approvals.

The companies did not identify the countries where access would be offered or set a launch date. Blockchain.com operates in more than 70 jurisdictions, according to its announcement, but eligibility would depend on the rules governing the products and the markets where they are offered. Its agreement with NYSE outlines a proposed distribution route rather than an available trading service.

Blockchain.com could connect users to NYSE's planned venue

NYSE first outlined its digital platform in January and said it was still developing onchain settlement infrastructure in August. The exchange plans to support trading at any hour, orders for fractions of a share and settlement using blockchain-based systems. It has also described stablecoin-based funding and orders placed in dollar amounts.

Under the proposed agreement, Blockchain.com would provide a route for its customers to reach the NYSE venue once it is operating and the necessary approvals are in place. NYSE's January plan calls for a separate digital market that combines its Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based systems used after a trade. The exchange said its design can support multiple networks for settlement and custody.

NYSE also said the venue could handle both tokenized versions of traditionally issued securities and securities issued in tokenized form from the start. Its plan calls for tokenized shareholders to retain conventional dividend and governance rights. Access to the venue would run through qualified broker-dealers under the model described by the exchange.

Blockchain.com Executive Chairman and CEO Peter Smith said a connection to the venue could extend tokenized stock access to users across the company's international network. NYSE Group President Lynn Martin described Blockchain.com's customer reach and digital asset operations as a fit for the exchange's planned platform. Neither executive announced that trading had begun.

US stock tokens bring shareholder rights into focus

For U.S. readers, the proposal concerns shares and ETFs listed on American exchanges, even though the companies have framed Blockchain.com's customer network as international. A token tied to a U.S. stock does not necessarily carry the same legal rights as the share itself. The product's structure determines what its holder owns and whether the holder can receive dividends, vote, or claim an interest in the underlying shares.

In September, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission set out conditions for tokenized stocks traded by qualifying venues under a five-year exemption. The SEC said eligible tokenized National Market System stocks must preserve the rights attached to the corresponding conventional shares. Products that only track a stock's price do not qualify under that exemption. The agency's action provides context for U.S. tokenized stock trading, but Blockchain.com and NYSE have not said that their proposed arrangement has received approval under it.

NYSE has taken another, separate step involving its existing exchange. An April SEC filing on tokenized trading established rules for eligible securities to trade in tokenized form alongside conventional shares during a Depository Trust Company pilot. Coverage of the filing noted that trades under that arrangement continue to settle on the usual next-business-day schedule. NYSE's proposed 24/7 venue is a different project, designed for immediate settlement and still awaiting regulatory approvals.

Existing Ondo products show a different route to access

Blockchain.com already offers stock-linked tokens in some markets through Ondo Finance. In February, the companies expanded tokenized stock access to eligible users in 30 European Economic Area countries, with more than 200 U.S. stocks and ETFs available through the Blockchain.com DeFi wallet. Blockchain.com said it had previously introduced Ondo products to users in parts of Africa and South America.

According to Blockchain.com, its Ondo-linked tokens track the returns of the underlying assets, including price moves and reinvested dividends after applicable taxes. The structure of an existing Ondo product should therefore be considered separately from NYSE's plan for a regulated digital venue. Blockchain.com's Sep. 23 announcement describes a potential connection to that future venue; it does not say that the two sets of products would have identical ownership terms.

Blockchain.com's geographic expansion has also included a regulatory step in Nigeria. The company announced its admission to the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission's Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme, a supervised route for eligible digital asset businesses. Its Sep. 23 agreement with NYSE does not name Nigeria, Europe or any other region as a confirmed market for the proposed service.

ICE and Blockchain.com also plan to exchange market data

Beyond trading access, the memorandum covers distribution of data in both directions. ICE Data Services, part of NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange, plans to provide Blockchain.com's crypto market data and analytics to its subscribing clients. Blockchain.com, in turn, plans to add selected ICE and NYSE exchange data feeds to its app.

Blockchain.com said the app integration would give its more than 44 million confirmed accounts access to real-time stock information. The announcement also listed more than 95 million wallets created since the company's founding; that figure is distinct from its count of confirmed accounts.