Nasdaq seeks SEC nod to trade tokenized securities alongside traditional stocks

Nasdaq is pushing for permission to allow tokenized versions of listed stocks and ETFs to trade on the same order book as their traditional counterparts, a first-of-its-kind push that could bring blockchain-based settlement into the national market system as soon as the third quarter of 2026 if approved.

The stock exchange filed a rule change with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, saying tokenized shares would have to carry the same rights and privileges as the underlying security to qualify for unified trading and execution priority under the plan. Trades could settle onchain once central clearing infrastructure is ready, with the Depository Trust Company targeted to support the model, Reuters reported on Monday.

The proposal lands as the SEC’s new agenda extends work on enabling crypto trading on national exchanges, and as Wall Street interest in tokenization accelerates. Nasdaq argued that markets can adopt tokenization without waiving core investor protections, pushing back on calls for broad exemptions from federal market-structure rules. It also flagged concerns about some overseas platforms that market tokenized U.S. equities without conferring shareholder rights, positioning its approach as a higher bar that requires equivalence to the underlying stock.

Incumbents like Citadel Securities submitted a letter to the SEC in July, advising that the agency should avoid exemptions from securities rules and focus on market liquidity with standard investor protection. 

A broader policy pivot in Washington D.C. is also taking shape nearly a year into President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto administration.

Lawmakers are drafting market-structure legislation that would clarify how tokenized assets fit across the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission's jurisdictions, including standards for custody, audits, and reporting. It’s part of a push to move real-world assets onchain without reclassifying non-securities as securities. Banks and crypto firms are circling the same theme. Coinbase has reportedly explored tokenized equities within its "everything exchange" game plan, and large institutions like JPMorgan have discussed tokenized deposits and funds.