NYSE and Blockchain.com Team Up to Expand Tokenized U.S. Stocks to Crypto Users

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and crypto brokerage Blockchain.com have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore offering Blockchain.com users access to tokenized U.S.-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through the NYSE’s planned digital trading platform.

The collaboration, announced September 23, would connect NYSE’s planned digital alternative trading system (ATS) with Blockchain.com’s global customer base, subject to regulatory approvals. Neither company has disclosed a launch date, the jurisdictions where the products would be available, or which stocks and ETFs would initially be offered.

The agreement also includes a two-way market-data arrangement. ICE Data Services, part of NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange, plans to distribute Blockchain.com’s crypto market data and analytics to its clients, while Blockchain.com plans to add selected NYSE and ICE market data to its app.

NYSE Brings Tokenized Stocks to a Crypto-Native User Base

The partnership gives NYSE a potential distribution channel into the crypto market as traditional exchanges increasingly build infrastructure for tokenized securities.

NYSE has been developing a digital ATS designed to support tokenized securities and continuous trading. The planned venue is expected to support 24/7 trading, fractional ownership and onchain settlement, while maintaining traditional shareholder rights for eligible tokenized securities.

The Blockchain.com agreement would add a crypto-native distribution layer to that infrastructure.

Blockchain.com said the collaboration is intended to give its users access to tokenized U.S. equities without the constraints of traditional market hours or conventional brokerage access. The company has more than 44 million confirmed accounts, according to its announcement.

The development follows a broader expansion of tokenized-equity infrastructure among major financial-market institutions.

In September, Nasdaq committed $100 million to advance tokenized stock-market infrastructure, while the London Stock Exchange partnered with the parent of Kraken to explore tokenized versions of major U.K. stocks.

Blockchain.com Already Offers Tokenized Stocks

The NYSE agreement builds on Blockchain.com’s existing tokenized-equity offering.

The company launched tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs through a partnership with Ondo Finance earlier this year, initially targeting users outside the U.S. The offering has since expanded to eligible customers across the European Economic Area.

The new MOU is different from that existing product. Rather than simply expanding Blockchain.com’s current tokenized-stock offering, it would connect the brokerage to NYSE’s planned regulated digital trading infrastructure.

That distinction is important because the NYSE platform has not yet launched and the proposed Blockchain.com access remains subject to regulatory approvals.

Tokenization Moves Closer to Traditional Market Infrastructure

The collaboration adds another layer to a shift already underway across global exchanges and market infrastructure providers.

NYSE previously joined the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s (DTCC) tokenized-securities initiative, which has tested blockchain-based transactions involving equities, U.S. Treasuries, collateral, securities lending and margin processes. The initiative is moving beyond experimentation toward broader tokenized market infrastructure.

The Blockchain.com partnership addresses a different part of the market: distribution and access.

If the NYSE digital ATS launches as planned, traditional exchange infrastructure would sit behind tokenized securities while Blockchain.com could provide access to a large crypto-native user base.

That creates a model in which tokenization is not simply about putting an existing security on a blockchain. It increasingly involves connecting traditional exchanges, blockchain settlement infrastructure and digital-asset platforms.

SEC Rules Open a Path for Tokenized Securities

The agreement also comes shortly after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced a five-year innovation exemption for certain platforms trading tokenized securities.

The exemption provides qualifying platforms and liquidity providers relief from some existing securities-market requirements, while requiring eligible tokenized stocks to maintain the same shareholder rights as their traditional counterparts. Synthetic products that merely track a stock’s price without representing ownership are excluded.

The regulatory development provides an important backdrop for the NYSE-Blockchain.com collaboration, although the MOU itself does not constitute regulatory approval or mean that tokenized stocks are immediately available through Blockchain.com.

For the broader digital-asset market, the development marks another step in the convergence between traditional equity markets and blockchain-based trading infrastructure, with exchanges increasingly looking to bring tokenized securities to investors through both conventional and crypto-native channels.