NYSE, Blockchain.com in tie-up to bring tokenized US stocks to crypto users

Blockchain.com and the New York Stock Exchange have signed a memorandum of understanding to give Blockchain.com users access to tokenized US-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds through NYSE’s planned digital trading platform.

Under the proposed arrangement, Blockchain.com would distribute tokenized US equities and ETFs traded on NYSE’s digital alternative trading system (ATS), subject to regulatory approval. The deal would extend NYSE’s planned tokenized securities offering to Blockchain.com’s global customer base.

The agreement also covers an exchange of market data. NYSE affiliate ICE Data Services plans to distribute Blockchain.com’s crypto market data and analytics to its clients, while Blockchain.com would add certain ICE and NYSE market data feeds to its platform.

Reid Noch, vice president of US equity market structure at TD Securities, told Cointelegraph that NYSE’s planned tokenized ATS appears “primarily like a play for retail flow,” pointing to its planned 24/7 trading and request-for-quote functionality. Because retail trades are already pre-funded, Noch said the shift to instant settlement would require little change to existing retail workflows.

“The bigger differentiator is true weekend trading,” Noch said. “This could be impactful for retail heavy names or around episodic news events, similar to what we saw with tokenized oil PERPs during the start of the Iran conflict that started over the weekend.”