# Nasdaq’s Friedman Says Tokenization Could Free Billions in Capital By John Kim Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/29778 Published: 2026-10-11T10:41:32.000Z Updated: 2026-10-11T10:41:32.000Z Section: Business > Tokenizing financial instruments and money could improve collateral mobility, but 24/7 markets would require continuous risk, liquidity and collateral management. Tokenizing financial instruments and money could potentially free tens of billions of dollars in capital tied up as collateral, Nasdaq Chair and CEO Adena Friedman said, highlighting both the potential and limits of blockchain-based markets. Friedman made the comments during an Oct. 8 interview at TOKEN2049 in Singapore. She pointed to U.S. Treasury securities, stocks, money market funds and tokenized money as instruments that could become easier to transfer across global financial markets. “If you tokenize all those instruments along with the flow of money, then the collateral becomes very fluid,” Friedman said. The “tens of billions” figure is a projection of potential capital efficiency, not a report that the money has already been released. Friedman did not provide a calculation for the estimate. Tokenization could also support longer trading hours, but Friedman said markets operating around the clock would require continuous management of risk, liquidity and collateral. “Not every asset is liquid enough to support a 24/7 environment,” she said. Nasdaq is advancing tokenized-equity infrastructure with Payward, the parent company of Kraken. Nasdaq announced Sept. 10 that Nasdaq Ventures would invest $100 million in Payward as the companies continued work on the proposed Nasdaq Equity Token framework, always-on markets and a market-surveillance agreement. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also granted temporary, conditional exemptions allowing certain Tokenized Securities Venues to trade tokenized National Market System stocks through permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools. Securitize announced Oct. 8 that it had launched tokenized representations of 12 U.S. equities on Solana for eligible investors in the United States, the European Union and other permitted jurisdictions. The initial list included Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, Tesla, Meta, Amazon, Netflix, Circle, Core Scientific, Strategy and Palantir. The developments extend [TokenPost’s earlier coverage of Nasdaq’s tokenization plans](), while showing that access to continuous tokenized markets remains limited by investor eligibility, product scope, liquidity and regulatory conditions. Nasdaq’s tokenized-equity work remains in development rather than a completed launch of Nasdaq Equity Tokens. ## Links in this article - [TokenPost’s earlier coverage of Nasdaq’s tokenization plans](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/28594)