The New York Stock Exchange is preparing for one of the most significant changes to the infrastructure of the U.S. stock market in decades.
This exchange has just announced plans to support Tokenize securities trading and enable 24/7 trading. This is an effort to modernize how stocks are traded, settled, and information is received within today's global financial system.
If successful, this shift could significantly impact pricing strategies, payment risk, liquidation behavior, and investor sentiment in the U.S. stock market.
What is the NYSE actually proposing?
The NYSE's plan focuses on building a blockchain-based platform capable of supporting Tokenize versions of traditional securities, such as stocks and ETFs. These Tokenize securities would represent real, legally recognized shares, guaranteeing a 1:1 value ratio with the underlying asset and subject to existing U.S. securities law regulations.
A Tokenize share still guarantees ownership in the business, along with economic rights and voting rights, just like a regular share. The difference lies in how ownership is recorded and how transactions are settled.
Importantly, the NYSE will not replace the entire current system immediately. Tokenize securities are designed to work in parallel with traditional stocks, and over time, the two forms can be flexibly converted into each other.
Therefore, this will be an add-on system, not a mandatory full conversion.
The current structure of the stock market is showing signs of being outdated.
Despite technological advancements over the past decades, the U.S. stock market still utilizes a multi-tiered model established in the pre-digital era. Trading, settlement, custody, and safekeeping of securities are handled by numerous different parties, each with its own ledger.
This structure creates several problems: Capital is "stuck" pending payment, counterparty risk persists until the transaction is completed, and reconciliation between intermediaries adds operational costs and risks.
The most important thing is that the market is still limited by rigid trading hours, even though information from around the world is constantly flowing.
These shortcomings may not be obvious to retail investors, but in reality, they impact price volatility, liquidation , and market behavior every day.
Tokenization is changing everything at the infrastructure level.
Tokenize aims to directly address these limitations . When securities are recorded on a common digital ledger, updating ownership and settlement can occur almost instantaneously. Transactions and settlements are no longer two separate processes that must be linked together afterward.
This reduces payment risk because the transfer of assets and payment can occur simultaneously and instantly. At the same time, Capital efficiency is improved because collateral and cash are no longer "held" awaiting transaction completion.
For large organizations, this will impact financial reporting. For the market as a whole, Tokenize simplifies increasingly complex Capital transaction operations.
The important point is: Tokenize does not change the nature of the stock, but only changes how the system records ownership of that stock.
A Tokenize market built for continuous operation would change this approach. Trading would not be paused on weekends or outside of business hours. Price determination would occur continuously, not confined to specific time frames.
This is very important. Currently, whenever financial news, geopolitical events, or macroeconomic data are released outside of trading hours, prices are often delayed and fluctuate sharply at the beginning of the next session.
The biggest advantage is that with continuous trading, prices will gradually adjust to evolving information, limiting the occurrence of sudden, large shocks.
