The Onchain Stock Exchange of the Future Is (Almost) Here

The New York Stock Exchange, the largest node of equity liquidity in the world with a stock market capitalization that exceeds $44 trillion, just announced that it is seeking regulatory approval to build an onchain tokenization platform.

The announcement lays the groundwork needed to catalyze blockchain's watershed moment: mass adoption of tokenized finance.

Today, we're unpacking the NYSE’s tokenization announcement and surveying the broader RWA landscape to explain why financial markets will inevitably move onchain. 👇

What's the NYSE Game Plan?

According to NYSE's parent company press release, the new tokenization platform will feature support for 24/7 trading of U.S. listed equities and ETFs, settling orders instantly in dollar amounts using stablecoin-based payments solutions.

Its design will interweave NYSE’s cutting-edge "Pillar" matching engine (a trading technology platform that enables firms to connect to all NYSE markets using a standard protocol) with "blockchain-based post-trade systems," allowing for multiple blockchains to support security settlement and custody.

Subject to final regulatory approval, the tokenization platform will operate in parallel with the legacy NYSE trading system, supporting both tokenized shares backed by traditionally issued shares and shares natively issued as digital securities.

Crucially, tokenized shareholders will receive the exact same protections as equity holders, including direct dividends, governance rights, and non-discriminatory access through qualified broker-dealer intermediaries.

To safely streamline money movement outside of traditional banking hours, NYSE is conducting ongoing trials with banks (including BNY and Citi) to support around-the-clock trading and account funding operations.

While the NYSE's announcement lacked specific details and aspirational insights for the new platform, the exchange's message is unmistakable: tokenization is the next frontier of financial markets.

Per Michael Blaugrund, NYSE parent company Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) exec, "Supporting tokenized securities is a pivotal step in ICE's strategy to operate on-chain market infrastructure for trading, settlement, custody, and capital formation in the new era of global finance."

Competitive Landscape

NYSE's potentially game-changing tokenization announcement is currently commanding crypto's attention, yet it’s far from a first mover, arriving hot on the heels of multiple tokenization developments that rocked the industry in 2025.

In late June, crypto exchange Kraken teamed up with Backed Finance to launch "xStocks," offering tokenized equity exposure for more than 60 leading U.S. equities to Kraken customers and blockchain compatibility across multiple chains, including Solana and Ethereum.

Kraken's announcement, however, was itself overshadowed by that of TradFi retail broker Robinhood, who introduced over 200+ "stock tokens" on the very same day, providing commission-free U.S. stock trading to European customers, with dividend support and access to pre-IPO opportunities.

Coinbase has taken a relatively measured approach to tokenized stocks, gradually rolling out access for U.S. users since mid-December. Meanwhile, fast-and-loose competitors like Hyperliquid have moved at crypto speeds and already offer leveraged perpetual futures on stocks.

NYSE is also joined in its tokenization ambitions by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the clearinghouse backbone of the United States financial system that processed $3.8Q (quadrillion) of securities transactions in 2024 and recently secured its own regulatory approval to offer tokenization services.

Although unclear at this time how separate tokenization offerings from the NYSE and DTCC – both integral components of U.S. financial markets – will interact or compete with/against each other, it is clear that both are attempting to carve out a slice of the next generation financial system for themselves.

Further, while long-term blockchain integrations have been hard to glean from any traditional financial institutions, language from both NYSE and DTCC appears tech-neutral, supporting the possibility that existing crypto native blockchains will host regulator-approved tokenization projects in the future.

Mainstream Moment

The NYSE's tokenization announcement is emblematic of a broader institutional trend in crypto markets. It demonstrates that blockchains have emerged from the periphery and become a focal point among institutions that define global markets.

For crypto natives, tokenization has always been about bridging TradFi’s liquidity onto blockchain-based settlement layers to modernize financial markets with real-time settlement, ultimate composability, and global accessibility.

Now, as the rails for a tokenized future are being laid by the very same institutions that safeguard the legacy system, the question shifts from if financial markets will ever migrate onchain to when, where, and how.