NYSE and Nasdaq Enter the Fray Simultaneously, U.S. Stock Tokenization Begins Close Combat

This is not an isolated move by one or two institutions. Looking at the calendar for March, the density of activity is remarkable.

On March 9, Nasdaq partnered with Payward, the parent company of क्रिप्टो exchange Kraken, to plan a distribution channel for tokenized stocks for non-U.S. users. On March 18, the SEC approved Nasdaq’s rule amendments. On the same day, S&P Dow Jones Indices licensed its flagship S&P 500 index to the on-chain protocol Trade.xyz for issuing perpetual contracts on the decentralized derivatives platform Hyperliquid.

On March 24, the NYSE signed with Securitize. On the same day, Invesco, managing $2.2 trillion in assets, announced it would take over the USTB fund from on-chain treasury fund manager Superstate, with a size of $967 million. On March 25, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee held a special hearing titled “टोकनization and the Future of Securities: Modernizing Our Capital बाज़ारs.” According to FinTech Weekly, attendees included Kenneth Bentsen Jr., CEO of the Securities Industry and Financial बाज़ारs Association (SIFMA), and Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association.

Six events in 17 days. Two major exchanges, three traditional asset management firms, one SEC approval, one Congressional hearing. Among these events, the plans from Nasdaq and the NYSE are most worthy of deeper analysis. The two are pursuing distinct technical paths, and the divergence is greater than most realize.

Nasdaq is taking a compatibility route. According to the SEC’s approval document (34-105047) released on March 18, Nasdaq’s tokenized securities trading will still be settled through the existing clearing system of the Depository Trust Company (DTC). Traders select a tokenized asset when placing an order, specify a blockchain and wallet address, and the DTC handles verification and settlement on the backend. टोकनized shares share the same CUSIP number as traditional shares, are matched on the same order book, and have identical execution priority. If the DTC determines a participant is ineligible or the specified blockchain is incompatible, the transaction automatically reverts to traditional settlement. In this model, the blockchain is an optional wrapper; the underlying clearing pipeline remains unchanged. According to an analysis by the legal website Free Writings & Perspectives, eligible assets include Russell 1000 index constituents and ETFs tracking the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. The first tokenized trades are expected to launch in Q3 2026.

The NYSE is taking a different path. According to a BusinessWire press release, the NYSE has designated Securitize as its first “Digital Transfer Agent,” responsible for minting blockchain-native securities on-chain, maintaining ownership records, and handling corporate actions like dividends. According to CoinDesk, the NYSE is collaborating with BNY Mellon and Citi to integrate tokenized deposits and stablecoin payments, aiming to enable 24/7 trading and near-instant settlement. This path is not about adding a layer to the existing clearing pipeline but building an independent on-chain settlement infrastructure. In the press release, NYSE Group President Lynn Martin’s wording skipped “exploring” and “piloting,” stating directly that the development of the new infrastructure must “preserve the trust, transparency, and protection investors expect.”

The core of the divergence is this: Nasdaq is adding to the existing order book, maintaining unified liquidity, and can launch once the DTC updates its systems. The NYSE is building a separate digital trading platform to run in parallel with the existing exchange, prioritizing 24/7 trading and instant settlement, though CoinDesk reports a specific launch date has not been announced. Securitize is the core technical support for the NYSE’s plan. According to PRNewswire data, it currently manages approximately $4.6 billion, representing about 25% of the tokenized RWA market.

It is also the technology provider for BlackRock’s BUIDL fund. Public data shows BUIDL has reached $2.38 billion in size within 15 months of launch, making it the world’s largest tokenized treasury fund. According to CoinDesk, Securitize’s revenue for the first three quarters of 2025 grew 841% year-over-year to $55.6 million, and PRNewswire reports it is going public via a SPAC with a $1.25 billion valuation. By choosing Securitize as its first Digital Transfer Agent, the NYSE is entrusting the minting authority for tokenized securities to an infrastructure company on the verge of a public listing.

Regulatory progress is also advancing in parallel. According to CoinDesk, the CLARITY Act, previously stalled for months over stablecoin yield provisions, recently reached a “principled agreement,” with FinTech Weekly reporting the Senate Banking Committee aims for a markup in late April. In December 2025, the SEC issued a No-Action Letter to the DTC. According to an official DTCC announcement, this letter authorizes the DTC to provide tokenization services under a regulated framework, which is the prerequisite for Nasdaq’s plan to proceed.

All of this happened within a single month. Viewed globally, what does this pace signify?

Switzerland’s SDX is the world’s first fully licensed DLT exchange, launching in 2021. According to Ledger Insights, it has issued over CHF 400 million in tokenized bonds, but its daily trading volume is only CHF 2-5 million, with influence largely confined to Switzerland. The London Stock अदला-बदली Group (LSEG) launched its DMI platform in September 2025. According to an LSEG official announcement, its first transaction involved private fund tokenization, and it is currently applying for a Digital Securities Depository (DSD) license.

Deutsche Börse’s Clearstream began issuing tokenized European bonds on its D7 platform in Q4 2025, with electronic equities expected to launch in the second half of 2026 according to Clearstream’s website. The Singapore अदला-बदली (SGX), through its joint venture with Temasek, Marketnode, has issued over SGD 1 billion in digital bonds according to SGX website data. HKEX and JPX are still in the pilot and planning stages.

Most of these exchanges spent two to three years progressing from pilot to partial launch. Nasdaq’s timeline from SEC approval to its first expected trades is just one quarter. The NYSE, from signing an MOU, is directly targeting on-chain native settlement. What took SDX five years to achieve, America’s two largest exchanges have positioned themselves at their respective starting lines within a month. Nasdaq is adding a layer to the existing foundation; the NYSE is laying a new foundation right beside it.

यह लेख इंटरनेट से लिया गया है: NYSE and Nasdaq Enter the Fray Simultaneously, U.S. Stock Tokenization Begins Close Combat

Related: Backed by Top VCs, Zcash Original Team Raises $25 Million for “Re-entrepreneurship”

On March 9, the Zcash development organization Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL) announced the completion of a seed funding round exceeding $25 million. Participants in this round include Paradigm, a16z क्रिप्टो, Winklevoss Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Cypherpunk Technologies, Maelstrom (Arthur Hayes’s family office), Chapter One, as well as notable individual investors such as Balaji Srinivasan, David Friedberg, Haseeb Qureshi, Mert, and James Nicholas. It is reported that the funds from this financing round will be used by ZODL to expand its engineering team and accelerate the development of the Zcash protocol and its self-custody privacy wallet, Zodl. Image Source: ZODL Tweet The core development force of Zcash has officially transitioned from a non-profit governance model to an independent commercial startup entity. Boosted by this positive funding news, the price of Zcash…