The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday approved a major rule change that will allow one of the world’s largest stock exchanges, Nasdaq, to support trading of tokenized securities, a move that could accelerate the integration of blockchain technology into mainstream financial markets.
Nasdaq rule changes approved
Nasdaq’s amended regulations were approved by the SEC following a seven-month review 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 could enable 24-hour trading, speed settlement and enable fractional ownership, modernizing elements of the market infrastructure that have long relied on legacy systems.
According to SEC filings, Nasdaq’s approved pilot program will work with the Depository Trust Company (DTC), providing market participants with a regulated path to trade these digital representations of securities.
Cross-border railroads for tokenized securities
The SEC’s approval paves the way for several industry initiatives already in development. Earlier this month, Payward – the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken – announced a partnership with Nasdaq to build a gateway for equity transformation.
That project combines Nasdaq’s regulated market infrastructure with Kraken’s xStocks framework, with the aim of allowing tokenized stocks to move seamlessly between permissioned institutional environments and permissionless decentralized financial (DeFi) networks.
According to Nasdaq, the collaboration will support a new Nasdaq equity token design intended to maintain issuer control, maintain compliance with existing regulatory frameworks and protect traditional rights associated with company shares.
The exchange also announced earlier this month a partnership with Boerse Stuttgart Group’s tokenized settlement platform, Seturion, to connect its European trading platforms to a settlement infrastructure tailor-made for tokenized securities.
Featured image from Reuters, chart from TradingView.com