Nasdaq Seeks SEC Green Light to Launch Tokenized Stock Market – Trillions Coming to Crypto?

Nasdaq is asking ￰3￱ to approve a rule change that could allow the exchange to list and trade tokenized versions of stocks, marking one of the most ambitious attempts yet to bring blockchain technology into the heart of American equity ￰4￱ a filing submitted Monday, the world’s second-largest stock exchange requested the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amend existing rules, including the definition of a security, to permit tokenized stocks to be traded under the same execution and documentation requirements as traditional ￰5￱ proposal would still require a public comment period and SEC approval before any changes could take ￰6￱ Review of Nasdaq Tokenization Plan Could Reshape Equity Trading Nasdaq outlined in its submission that tokenized shares should carry the same rights and protections as their underlying ￰7￱ exchange proposed that tokenized assets be clearly labeled so that clearing firms and the Depository Trust Company, which handles settlement, could process orders in the same way they do with conventional ￰8￱ securities, it added, would be prioritized equally with traditional assets when trades are ￰9￱ move goes beyond a technical ￰10￱ addresses fundamental questions about how stocks are issued, defined, and settled.

“The solution, which is detailed in the proposal, is simple, leverages the current infrastructure, and market structure,” Nasdaq Chief Financial Officer Sarah Youngwood said during the Barclays financial services ￰11￱ approved, the change would bring tokenized shares directly onto regulated U. S. markets, placing blockchain technology at the core of equity trading rather than on the ￰12￱ could help answer whether tokenization becomes a standard part of Wall Street’s infrastructure or remains confined to niche crypto platforms. Nasdaq’s filing comes as ￰13￱ adopt a more open stance toward digital ￰14￱ Chairman Paul Atkins has directed the agency to develop clear rules on when digital assets qualify as securities, while Commissioner Hester Peirce recently said the regulator is willing to work with tokenization firms, provided they disclose the nature of the assets being ￰15￱ Chair Paul Atkins claimed that the agency's regulation-by-enforcement approach to crypto has ended amid tokenization's rise. #SEC #PaulAtkins ￰0￱ — ￰16￱ (@cryptonews) July 2, 2025 Tokenized securities are digital representations of stocks that can be traded on a ￰17￱ argue they could deepen liquidity, support fractional ownership, and extend access to overseas ￰18￱ also raises the possibility of near-instant settlement and 24/7 trading, compared with traditional exchanges that close overnight and on ￰19￱ heavyweights including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and KKR have experimented with tokenizing portions of their funds, though often through ￰20￱ tokenized shares to date have been issued by third parties rather than the companies themselves, creating legal and regulatory complications.

Nasdaq, in its filing, cautioned that issuers should not be deprived of control over how their shares are ￰21￱ note that adoption has so far been ￰22￱ Chase recently told clients that tokenization of bonds and other assets has yet to gain traction beyond crypto-native ￰23￱ Securities has also urged regulators to proceed cautiously, warning of risks if clear rules are not ￰24￱ these concerns, Nasdaq executives say they see an opportunity to “bridge the gap between the digital-asset and traditional-asset worlds.” President Tal Cohen said the challenge is to ensure tokenization evolves with investor protections at its ￰25￱ proposal comes amid growing global demand for tokenized real-world assets, with overseas platforms already offering tokenized versions of ￰26￱ and exchange-traded funds to investors ￰27￱ from the SEC would mark the first major step toward integrating the same technology directly into ￰28￱ Regulators Face Growing Pressure as Tokenized Equities Surge The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), representing major stock exchanges worldwide , has urged regulators to tighten oversight of tokenized equities amid concerns over investor protection and market ￰29￱ a letter to watchdogs including the SEC, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), and IOSCO’s Fintech Task Force, the WFE warned that blockchain-based stocks “mimic” equities without conferring shareholder rights or traditional ￰30￱ group called for securities laws to apply to tokenized assets and for clearer frameworks on ownership and ￰31￱ equities, which represent company shares via blockchain-based tokens, have grown rapidly this ￰32￱ of RWAs could unlock a $400 trillion traditional finance market, according to new research from @animocaresearch . #Tokenization #RWA ￰1￱ — ￰33￱ (@cryptonews) August 25, 2025 According to RWA.

xyz, the market value of tokenized stocks has surged past $465 million , with monthly transfer volumes climbing more than 280% to $287 ￰34￱ from CoinGecko shows the sector has expanded nearly 300% since the start of ￰35￱ such as Robinhood, Kraken, and Coinbase are testing new products tied to tokenized ￰36￱ July, Robinhood’s shares rose 26% after launching tokenized equities and expanding into crypto ￰37￱ opens tokenized ￰38￱ and ETFs to global users via Ethereum, with real-time pricing and DeFi compatibility built in. #ondo #rwa #tokenization ￰2￱ — ￰39￱ (@cryptonews) September 3, 2025 Meanwhile, Ondo Finance rolled out Ondo Global Markets last week , offering access to over 100 tokenized ￰40￱ and ETFs for international ￰41￱ conglomerate SBI Holdings and Startale Group also announced plans to build an on-chain trading platform for tokenized stocks and real-world assets, targeting what they estimate could become an $18.9 trillion market by ￰42￱ advocates highlight benefits such as 24/7 trading and lower costs, regulators warn of legal and operational ￰43￱ executive director Natasha Cazenave said tokenized assets still require robust safeguards :“Tokenized securities are still securities.”