NYSE promotes on-chain clearing of tokenized securities

Lynne Martin, President of the New York Stock Exchange, said on August 10 that the exchange is continuing to develop the on-chain settlement infrastructure for tokenized securities, a few months after the exchange announced plans for a dedicated digital trading platform.

Summary

NYSE President Lynn Martin said the exchange is developing an on-chain settlement infrastructure for tokenized securities.

The New York Stock Exchange participated in the Depository Trust Corporation (DTC)'s July tokenization pilot, which handled real-time production transactions across asset classes.

The platform plan announced by the New York Stock Exchange in January targets 24/7 trading, instant settlement, fractional shares and stablecoin-based financing.

A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) document filed in April allows tokenized qualified securities to be traded together with ordinary stocks on the New York Stock Exchange.

DTCC plans to launch its tokenization service in October following a July transaction involving 30 companies.

At a National Assembly seminar in Seoul, Martin also confirmed that the New York Stock Exchange participated in the Depository and Trust Corporation (DTC)'s July tokenization plan.

These remarks provide an update on the progress of the project, which has moved from early development announcements to actual industry testing. The New York Stock Exchange first disclosed the platform in January, and subsequent regulatory filings and its participation in DTC's July production transactions more clearly demonstrated how tokenized securities integrate into existing U.S. market infrastructure.

NYSE develops blockchain settlement platform for tokenized securities

NYSE President Lynn Martin said that the exchange is developing a blockchain settlement platform for tokenized securities and participated in DTC's tokenization pilot in July. Martin said the NYSE will continue to explore...

ICE, the NYSE's parent company, first announced the platform on January 19. The planned trading venue aims to combine the NYSE's Pillar matchmaking engine with blockchain-based post-transaction infrastructure. ICE said it will support 24/7 trading, instant settlement, fractional shares, dollar-denominated orders and stablecoin financing.

Subject to regulatory approval, this independent digital trading venue will support tokenized versions of traditional securities as well as natively issued securities in tokenized form. Holders will retain traditional dividends and governance rights. The system is also designed to support multiple blockchain networks for settlement and custody.

As previously reported in the exchange's January plan, the project represents a broader attempt to introduce blockchain settlement into the regulated U.S. stock market, rather than creating offshore tokenized stock products. Martin said in Seoul that the NYSE believes the industry is at a "critical turning point between traditional finance and DeFi."

DTC pilot provides real-time production testing for NYSE

Martin said that the New York Stock Exchange participated in DTC's tokenization pilot in July. DTCC independently confirmed that the New York Stock Exchange was one of more than 30 financial and digital asset companies participating in the real-time production transaction completed on July 15. Participants also include BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Nasdaq, Circle, Ondo Finance, Citadel Securities and Vanguard. A statement issued by DTCC said the test converts securities held by DTC into tokenized representatives and is used in real transactions. The tests cover stock delivery versus payment, treasury bonds and repo transactions, securities lending, collateral pledge, stock transfers and central counterparty margin processes. Transactions run on DTCC's private Besu network and public Canton network.

So July's work is more than just a technical sandbox. It uses DTC's production environment and follows a December 2025 no-action letter issued by SEC staff that allows DTC to operate a three-year tokenization program under certain conditions. DTCC plans to launch its broader tokenization services in October. As reported in recent pilot reports, this effort brings major traditional and crypto companies into a common settlement infrastructure.

SEC document incorporates tokenized stocks into existing market rules

The New York Stock Exchange has also taken separate regulatory steps. An April SEC filing established rules to allow eligible securities to be traded in tokenized form on the New York Stock Exchange during the DTC pilot period. The document becomes effective upon filing in accordance with applicable SEC rule processes. Under the framework, tokenized stocks can be traded on the same order book as ordinary stocks, provided they have the same code, CUSIP (Uniform Securities Identification Board Numbers), rights and privileges. Eligible securities include Russell 1000 Index components and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track major indices. Tokening options do not change order priority. In relevant regulatory reports, there have been previously reports on how the proposal will retain assets within existing national market rules.

There are important differences between this framework and the NYSE's planned dedicated digital trading venue. According to the SEC filing, transactions processed through the current DTC pilot continue to be settled on a T+1 basis. In contrast, the New York Stock Exchange's separately announced digital platform is designed to support instant settlement and 24/7 trading and still requires regulatory approval as described by ICE.

What's next for the NYSE's on-chain platform

The NYSE is still building infrastructure around the proposed trading venue. In March, it signed an agreement with Securitize, designating the company as the first digital transfer agent with the right to mine blockchain-native securities for issuers on the upcoming platform. Securitize Markets is also expected to participate as a broker-dealer, depending on applicable requirements.

The next specific milestone is DTCC's plan to launch its tokenization service in October following the July production transaction. The NYSE's April rules also stipulate that the exchange will notify members at least 30 calendar days in advance before starting tokenization transactions under the DTC pilot framework. For independent 24/7 digital platforms, ICE has not changed its original restrictions on regulatory approval for the trading venue. Martin's remarks in Seoul instead suggested that the NYSE continues to advance the project while testing the tokenized market infrastructure through DTC. Her comments position on-chain settlement as a potential part of global financial infrastructure, but its broader promotion still depends on regulatory and operational steps.