A move toward “continuous” settlement is being initiated by the NYSE, leaving traditional banking hours in the dust forever.
The creation of a platform for trading and on-chain settlement of tokenized securities is being developed by the NYSE, which will seek regulatory approvals for a proposed new venue powered by that infrastructure.
According to the owners, ICE, the system is designed to support 24/7 operations, instant settlement, orders sized in dollar amounts, and stablecoin-based funding. NYSE’s Pillar matching engine is combined with blockchain-based post-trade systems by the infrastructure to support multiple chains for settlement and custody.
Specific blockchains were not named by ICE, as the company also framed the venue and its features as contingent on regulatory approvals.
The scope described by ICE encompasses U.S.-listed equities and ETFs, including fractional share trading. It was stated that tokenized shares could be fungible with traditionally issued securities or natively issued as digital securities.
It was stated by ICE that traditional dividends and governance rights would be retained by tokenized shareholders. It was also noted that distribution is intended to follow “non-discriminatory access” for qualified broker-dealers.
The forward-looking market-structure implication is found less in the token wrapper and more in the decision to pair continuous trading with immediate settlement.
Under that design, the binding constraint is shifted from matching orders during a session to moving money and collateral across time zones and outside banking hours, based on inferences from settlement and operating-hour constraints described by regulators and ICE.
The move from T+2 to T+1 settlement was only fairly recently completed by U.S. markets, effective May 28, 2024, a project the SEC tied to updated rules for clearing agencies and broker-dealers. Reminders have also been issued by FINRA that even a one-day compression requires coordinated changes in trade reporting and post-trade workflows.
Always-On Trading Increases Settlement and Funding Pressures
Pressure for longer trading windows is also being built in listed equities, with Nasdaq publicly described as seeking SEC approval for a 23-hour, five-day trading schedule. The concept is extended by ICE’s proposal through the pairing of always-available trading with a settlement posture it labeled “instant.”
Market participants would be required by that approach to pre-position cash, credit lines, or eligible on-chain funding at all times, an inference grounded in the “instant settlement” and 24/7 features, and the post-trade funding constraints reflected in the T+1 migration.
For broader context on how quickly tokenization is being spread across finance, A coverage of tokenized assets should be consulted.
The funding and collateral angle was made explicit by ICE, describing the tokenized securities platform as one component of a broader digital strategy. That strategy also includes preparing clearing infrastructure for 24/7 trading and potential integration of tokenized collateral.
Collaboration with banks including BNY and Citi is being undertaken by ICE to support tokenized deposits across its clearinghouses. It said the goal is to help clearing members transfer and manage money outside traditional banking hours, meet margin obligations, and accommodate funding requirements across jurisdictions and time zones.
That framing is aligned with the push around tokenized collateral by the DTCC. Collateral mobility has been described by the DTCC as the “killer app” for institutional blockchain use, according to its announcement of a tokenized real-time collateral management platform.
A near-term data point for how quickly tokenized cash-equivalents can be scaled is found in tokenized U.S. Treasuries. A total value of $9.35 billion is displayed by RWA.xyz as of January 20, 2026.
A path where similar assets become operational inputs for brokerage margin and clearinghouse workflows is created by ICE’s emphasis on tokenized deposits and collateral integration. That scenario is an inference grounded in ICE’s stated clearing strategy and DTCC’s collateral thesis, including the focus on mobility.
Stablecoins, Tokenized Deposits, and the Future of Collateral Mobility
For crypto markets, the bridge is found in the settlement asset and the collateral workflow. Stablecoin-based funding for orders was explicitly referenced by ICE, which also separately cited tokenized bank deposits for clearinghouse money movement.
A settlement-asset race is envisioned as a base-case scenario, where stablecoins and bank-issued tokenized deposits compete for acceptance in brokerage and clearing operations. Such a shift could push more institutional treasury activity into on-chain rails while keeping the compliance perimeter centered on broker-dealers and clearing members.
A second scenario is characterized by collateral mobility spillover, where tokenized collateral becomes a primary tool for intraday and overnight margining in a 24/7 environment. That shift could increase demand for tokenized cash-equivalents such as Treasury tokens that can move in real time under defined eligibility rules.
In that design, the operational question becomes which chains, custody arrangements, and permissioning models satisfy broker-dealer requirements. It was stated by ICE only that the post-trade system has the capability to support multiple chains, and no specific network was identified.
A third scenario is reached through cross-asset liquidity involving Bitcoin. The boundary between “market hours” and “crypto hours” could be compressed by always-available equities and ETFs, paired with faster settlement expectations, making funding conditions a more continuous input into BTC positioning.
Large daily net flows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs were recorded by Farside data on several early-January sessions, including +$697.2 million on Jan. 5, 2026, +$753.8 million on Jan. 13, 2026, and +$840.6 million on Jan. 14, 2026.
Equity-like allocation decisions are transmitted by that channel into BTC exposure, alongside other flow drivers covered in ETF inflows reporting.
How Macro Forces and Regulation Will Shape the Rollout
The incentive gradient for these plumbing changes is set by macro conditions because collateral efficiency matters more when rate policy and balance-sheet costs shift. The federal funds rate is projected by the OECD’s baseline to remain unchanged through 2025 and then be lowered to 3.25–3.5% by the end of 2026.
Carry costs can be reduced by that path while leaving institutions focused on liquidity buffers and margin funding as trading windows lengthen. Under a 24/7 regime with instant settlement as a design goal, margin operations can become more continuous.
Attention can be pulled by that dynamic toward programmable cash movement, tokenized deposits, and tokenized collateral as tools for meeting obligations outside bank cutoffs.
For more on one of the key collateral-like building blocks, deep dive on tokenized Treasuries should be consulted.
For crypto-native venues, the nearer-term implication is less about NYSE listing tokens and more about whether on-chain cash legs for funding and collateral management are normalized by regulated intermediaries. That can affect demand for stablecoin liquidity and short-duration tokenized instruments even if the trading venue remains permissioned.
A parallel track where post-trade modernization proceeds through constrained implementations rather than open-access markets is offered by DTCC’s positioning of collateral mobility as an institutional blockchain use case. That approach can shape where on-chain liquidity forms and which standards become acceptable for settlement and custody.
No specific timeline was provided by ICE, nor were any eligible stablecoins or specific chains identified. The next concrete milestones are expected to be focused on filings, approval processes, and the publication of eligibility criteria for funding and custody.
Regulatory approvals for the platform and the proposed venue will be sought by the NYSE.
