With companies like BlackRock driving significant growth in the tokenization space, American stock exchange Nasdaq is poised to take advantage of this development by working with US authorities to make it easier for tokenized securities to be traded.
He pointed out that this fusion could provide substantial advantages to issuers, investors, and the broader economy by reducing friction in transactions, speeding up settlement times, automating processes, and enhancing capital and collateral management efficiencies.
In his remarks, Cohen acknowledged the potential of blockchain technology to introduce new post-trade processes, modernize proxy voting, and create programmable methods for managing corporate actions.
However, Cohen also highlighted the risks associated with rapid advancements. Cohen stressed the importance of embedding governance and investor protection from the outset to ensure that the benefits of innovation can be fully realized.
If the SEC approves Nasdaq’s proposal, it would represent the first instance of tokenized securities being traded on a major US stock exchange, marking a significant milestone in the integration of blockchain-based settlement into the national market system.
Once Nasdaq’s proposal is in place and the necessary infrastructure from the central clearing agency is operational, investors could potentially buy shares on Nasdaq that settle in token form, all without altering the current processes for order routing, pricing, surveillance, or reporting.
Nasdaq anticipates that US investors may witness the first token-settled trades by the end of the third quarter of 2026, contingent upon the readiness of the Depository Trust Company’s infrastructure.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
