NYSE President says exchange felt ‘responsibility’ to enter tokenization space

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Facing pressure from the growing momentum behind blockchain-based finance, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) President Lynn Martin said she felt a “responsibility” to get involved in tokenization.

“We’ve felt the responsibility to enter into the tokenization conversation,” Martin said at the World Liberty forum in Palm Beach Wednesday. The exchange has already developed its tokenization technology and is working with regulators to understand how it can be used within the existing financial framework, she said.

Tokenization refers to turning real-world assets like stocks or bonds into blockchain-based tokens, with the potential for faster settlement, round-the-clock trading, and more programmable financial products.

“We’ve learned from challenges,” Martin said, referencing past stress points in traditional markets related to liquidity and stability. “We’re applying those learnings.”

While the crypto ecosystem has long operated on a 24/7 basis, the NYSE is preparing to launch a blockchain-powered platform later this year that would enable around-the-clock trading of tokenized stocks and ETFs, if regulators sign off, straying away from its traditional 6.5 hour, five-day-a-week trading window.

The exchange has not provided a launch date or detailed plan as of press time.

"It's a moment we have to seize as regulators," Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig said on the same panel.

While previous administrations had "discouraged" development of new tools and products, Selig said, "I want that to be very clear, we stand ready to build with the incumbents, new entrants, old technologies, new technologies."