NYSE Builds Infrastructure for Base-Case $5.5 Trillion Tokenized-Asset Market

NYSE Group and Blockchain.com are building links between a planned 24/7 digital securities venue and a crypto platform, expanding potential access to tokenized U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds pending regulatory approvals.

The companies announced a memorandum of understanding Sept. 23 at 9 a.m. ET (13:00 UTC). Blockchain.com users could access tokenized securities traded through the New York Stock Exchange’s planned digital alternative trading system.

The venue is designed to support fractional orders, dollar-sized trades, stablecoin-based funding and instant on-chain settlement. It could offer tokenized shares fungible with traditionally issued securities, as well as securities issued natively in digital form.

Blockchain.com counts over 44 million confirmed accounts, while its app is set to incorporate market-data feeds from ICE and NYSE. ICE Data Services plans to distribute Blockchain.com’s crypto market data and analytics to institutional subscribers.

“Connecting to the NYSE digital ATS will enable us to extend the opportunity to invest in these digital assets to tens of millions of Blockchain.com users around the world,” Peter Smith, executive chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blockchain.com, said.

The agreement adds a distribution layer to Intercontinental Exchange’s broader effort to develop tokenized trading, settlement, custody and funding infrastructure. In March, OKX agreed to provide its more than 120 million accounts with potential access to ICE’s U.S. futures and NYSE tokenized-equities markets, also subject to regulatory approval.

NYSE is developing the trading venue while Securitize is supporting transfer-agent and issuance infrastructure. In March, NYSE and Securitize agreed to develop digital-transfer-agent services, with Securitize named the first digital transfer agent eligible to mint blockchain-native securities for corporate or ETF issuers on the planned platform.

“We are leading the industry toward fully on-chain solutions, grounded in the unmatched protections and high regulatory standards,” Lynn Martin, president of NYSE Group, said.

The global tokenized-asset market could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030 in the base case, compared with approximately $17 billion currently. The bear case is $2.7 trillion and the bull case is $8.2 trillion.

Approximately $2.6 trillion in demand for tokenized public equities could emerge if 10% of U.S. retail investors adopt on-chain products by 2030. Public-market securities, particularly U.S. equities and Treasuries, are expected to drive early growth as tokenized and traditional systems operate side by side.

The SEC issued temporary, conditional exemptive relief Sept. 17 for certain tokenized-stock venues. NYSE also filed a proposed rule change April 9 to enable trading of eligible securities in tokenized form during the Depository Trust Company’s tokenization pilot.

The companies have not specified which stocks, ETFs, jurisdictions or customer categories would initially qualify. No launch date has been announced.