The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved on Wednesday a significant rule change allowing one of the world’s largest stock exchanges, Nasdaq, to support trading in tokenized securities, a move that could accelerate the integration of blockchain technology into the mainstream financial markets.
Nasdaq Rule Amendments Approved
Nasdaq’s modified regulations were approved by the SEC following a seven-month assessment that began in September 2025 and included adjustments to ensure compliance with federal securities laws and investor protection requirements.
For context, tokenized securities are blockchain‑based representations of traditional financial instruments—stocks, bonds, or funds—where ownership rights are recorded as digital tokens on a distributed ledger.
Proponents say tokenization can enable around‑the‑clock trading, speed up settlement, and permit fractional ownership, modernizing elements of market infrastructure that have long relied on legacy systems.
According to the SEC’s filing, Nasdaq’s approved pilot program will operate in coordination with the Depository Trust Company (DTC), providing a regulated pathway for market participants to trade these digital representations of securities.
Cross‑Border Rails For Tokenized Securities
The SEC’s approval clears the way for several industry initiatives already under development. Earlier this month, Payward — the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken — announced a partnership with Nasdaq to build an equities transformation gateway.
That project pairs Nasdaq’s regulated market infrastructure with Kraken’s xStocks framework, with the stated goal of allowing tokenized equities to move seamlessly between permissioned institutional environments and permissionless decentralized finance (DeFi) networks.
According to Nasdaq, the collaboration will underpin a new Nasdaq equity token design intended to preserve issuer control, maintain compliance with existing regulatory frameworks, and protect the traditional rights attached to company shares.
The stock exchange also disclosed earlier in the month a partnership with Boerse Stuttgart Group’s tokenized settlement platform, Seturion, to link its European trading venues to settlement infrastructure tailored for tokenized securities.
Featured image from Reuters, chart from TradingView.com