NYSE Just Found a 44 Million-User Gateway Into Crypto Markets

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has signed a preliminary deal with Blockchain.com that could let the crypto company's users trade tokenized versions of U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

A tokenized stock is a digital version of a share recorded on a blockchain, a shared online ledger. Blockchain.com says it has more than 44 million confirmed accounts.

What the NYSE and Blockchain.com Tokenized Stocks Deal Covers

The two companies announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU), a non-binding agreement, on Wednesday. It gives Blockchain.com users a planned route into the NYSE's digital alternative trading system (ATS), a regulated venue that is not a full stock exchange.

Trading would start only after regulators approve it, according to the announcement.

The deal also swaps data. ICE Data Services, part of NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), plans to sell Blockchain.com's crypto market data to its clients. In return, Blockchain.com plans to show live NYSE and ICE stock prices inside its app.

"People shouldn't be limited in owning stocks based on where they happen to live or the brokerage and information they may or may not have access to," Peter Smith, CEO of Blockchain.com, said in the release.