Blockchain.com, NYSE Sign Tokenized US Stocks Deal for 24/7 Bitcoin (BTC)-Era Trading

Blockchain.com, NYSE Sign MOU

Crypto exchange Blockchain.com and NYSE Group signed a memorandum of understanding on Sep. 23 that would open the exchange operator's planned 24/7 digital venue to the platform's more than 44 million confirmed accounts, according to the companies' joint announcement. Under the proposed arrangement, eligible Blockchain.com customers across its 70-plus operating jurisdictions would reach tokenized versions of US-listed shares and exchange-traded funds — think vehicles like the Nasdaq-100 ETF (QQQ) — traded on a digital alternative trading system, a regulated marketplace operating outside a traditional exchange, that NYSE has yet to launch. Everything remains subject to regulatory approval: neither firm disclosed a launch date, eligible regions or financial terms. The memorandum also covers a two-way data deal. ICE Data Services, part of NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange, would distribute Blockchain.com's crypto market data and analytics to its subscribing clients, while Blockchain.com plans to add selected ICE and NYSE feeds to its app for real-time stock information. NYSE first outlined the digital platform in January, pairing its Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based post-trade systems; the design supports fractional-share orders, immediate onchain settlement, stablecoin-based funding — the model pursued by Tether's Stable (Stablechain) network — and settlement across multiple networks, from Ethereum to Polygon (POL).

SEC Innovation Exemption Sets Rules

The regulatory backdrop shifted days before the signing. Last week the SEC issued a five-year Innovation Exemption, letting qualifying venues trade tokenized versions of National Market System stocks on public blockchains without registering as exchanges. The condition is strict: tokenized shares must preserve the rights attached to conventional shares, including dividends and governance votes, and price-tracking products that do not convey those rights — among them Kraken's xStocks and Robinhood's Stock Tokens in their current form — fall outside the exemption. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said the framework covers one specific tokenization model and leaves room for other approaches. NYSE's tokenization work extends to a separate April step as well: an SEC filing on tokenized trading established rules for eligible securities to trade in tokenized form alongside conventional shares during a Depository Trust Company pilot, with trades settling next business day. That pilot differs from the proposed 24/7 venue, and Blockchain.com and NYSE have not said their arrangement has been approved under the new exemption.

Tokenized Stock Market Hits $3.14B

Aggregate tokenization data shows the distributed value of tokenized stocks reached $3.14 billion as of Wednesday, up more than 18% over the past 30 days, while the number of holders climbed nearly 72% to 3.87 million. Trading volume growth reflects a broader race: Kraken offers xStocks and has partnered with Nasdaq on a separate tokenized equity model, Coinbase launched tokenized stocks on Base, its Ethereum layer-2, for non-US users in August, and Binance and Robinhood have rolled out their own approaches. Blockchain.com already offers Ondo Finance-linked tokens tracking more than 200 US stocks and ETFs to eligible users across 30 European Economic Area countries. On market structure, TD Securities' Reid Noch views NYSE's planned venue as primarily a retail-flow play, arguing that true weekend trading could prove the real differentiator around episodic news events. Talos researcher Tanay Ved notes the models sit on a spectrum from issuer-native equity to pure derivatives, each trading ownership for accessibility. Blockchain.com also confidentially filed for a US IPO in May. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on Gate.

Wall Street Hours Meet Crypto Rails

Read together, the threads trace one arc: traditional market structure is absorbing crypto's 24/7, programmable design, and the SEC is supplying the legal scaffolding. The companies' Sep. 23 announcement spells out the scope — tokenized US exchange-listed shares and ETFs, a two-way data arrangement with ICE, and access for Blockchain.com's 44 million confirmed accounts — but it is explicit about what is missing: no launch date, no confirmed jurisdictions and no financial terms were disclosed, and approval under the SEC's exemption has not been confirmed. COINOTAG's reading: the venue is a bet on retail flow, and which tokenization model wins is still undecided.