Wall Street Goes On-Chain: Why the NYSE’s Blockchain Bet Changes Everything

Published: Apr 24, 2026
By: Chris Brodersen; John Delalio; Walter Zinenko
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Crypto prices are the distraction – the plumbing underneath your trades is being rebuilt.

The announcement that should have made bigger headlines was largely ignored, even in financial services circles: The NYSE (owned by the Intercontinental Exchange) named Securitize, the same firm that supports the tokenization of BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, as a partner in building a platform for publicly traded stocks and ETFs to support the development of issuer-sponsored tokenized securities.

Securitize already operates an SEC-registered transfer agent, and the intention is to mint blockchain native securities on an upcoming NYSE-affiliated Digital Trading Platform. This will facilitate 24/7 trading, allow for fractional share trading, and offer immediate settlement using tokenized capital. This is important for a number of reasons.

First, both the NYSE and NASDAQ have previously announced efforts to use blockchain technology as supporting infrastructure to create tokenization of existing securities alongside the existing exchanges, but this takes it a step further with the creation of a new tokenized securities platform.

Second, building a blockchain-based venue alongside the traditional exchange will position the NYSE to experiment with “always-on markets” without disrupting the core exchange. And third, as part of the broader digital strategy, Intercontinental Exchange is working with banks, including BNY and Citi, to support tokenized deposits across their clearinghouses “to help clearing members transfer and manage money outside of traditional banking hours, meet margin obligations, and accommodate funding requirements over different jurisdictions and time zones.”

To avoid common misinterpretations, we should point out that these efforts at the NYSE do not

Change the existing order book by moving on-chain
Automatically tokenize current NYSE-listed securities
Mean the exchange itself will run on a public blockchain
Bypass broker-dealers, DTCC, or existing clearing processes

Tokenization Explained

Like many things related to distributed ledger technology, tokenization can be a very complicated subject. The most basic and simple explanation is: Tokenization is the process by which some ‘thing’ is represented by a token, typically on a distributed ledger. The benefits of the underlying ledger are thereby accrued to the newly minted token (e.g., instant settlement, verifiable ownership, low transaction costs). The two critical aspects to tokenization, especially when tokenizing a security, are what exactly is being tokenized (i.e., what rights may a holder have as a result of ownership) and what new risks are introduced for the tokenized product (e.g., counterparty risk to the third-party issuer).

In this case, what the NYSE is intending to accomplish is an approach where the asset does not change, the legal rights don’t change, but the technology used to record ownership and move the asset does change. But as mentioned, tokenization of assets can be a complicated subject with a number of nuances that could change the nature of the asset in question.

Recently, the SEC Issued Guidance on Tokenized Security Taxonomies.

Issuer-sponsored tokenized securities are created by the issuer (or its agent) and integrated into a distributed ledger used to record ownership. The recordkeeping system uses on-chain database records, such as wallet address, quantity of security owned, and issue date, alongside off-chain database records such as security holder and name.

Third Party-Sponsored Tokenized Securities

Custodial tokenized securities are securities issued by another person by creating a security entitlement that is formatted as a crypto asset. The crypto asset represents the holder’s indirect interest in the underlying security via a security entitlement.
Synthetic tokenized securities can be a linked security that provides synthetic exposure to a referenced security but is not an obligation of the issuer of the referenced security and confers no rights or benefits from the issuer. The other type is a security-based swap, which generally provides synthetic exposure to, among other things, a referenced security or certain events related to the issuer of a security, and typically does not convey to the holder any equity, voting, information, or other rights with respect to the referenced security.

In addition, the GENIUS Act created legislation related to stablecoins and was signed into law. Also, at the time of this writing, the CLARITY Act, which is related to market infrastructure and defines the roles of the SEC and CFTC, is awaiting Senate approval.

What Is Broken About the Current System?

Many critics of tokenization point to the current system as being well-run, stable, and not in need of blockchain technologies. This ignores the fact that while the markets have successfully moved from T+2 (trade today, settle in two days) to T+1, the one-day gap still locks up billions in capital as a backstop against trades that could potentially fail. Using a blockchain means trades could settle in real- or near-real time, unlocking a tremendous amount of currently trapped capital. This is just one small benefit of tokenization. When we look at the broader capital markets ecosystem, there are many other advantages to instant or near-instant settlement, such as lower associated counterparty risk and related capital/margin requirements. Markets can also be continuous, allowing for price discovery and trading outside traditional market hours.

In addition, the ability to utilize tokenized products in on-chain lending and other smart contract-related activities will create new opportunities and products (as well as consideration of new risks). In other words, what we are witnessing is that the current infrastructure is at the beginning of a profound change. Banks and broker-dealers have spent a tremendous amount of time, thought, and money on using technology to create efficiencies and cost savings. Still, these have largely been incremental at best. The shift we are seeing, while admittedly in the early stages, could fundamentally shift the cost curve for financial services incumbents and their clients.

The Road Ahead

This has been coming, as evidenced by the institutional buildup that few have fully appreciated, and the NYSE announcement did not come out of nowhere. Examples include:

BlackRock created a tokenized money market fund, BUIDL, which saw $500m+ flows within only 4 months.
Franklin Templeton, WisdomTree, and Fidelity have also tokenized money market funds and Treasury products.
In December 2025 the SEC issued a no-action letter for a three-year pilot for tokenizing DTCC custodied securities.
Congress passed The GENIUS Act into law, which is the first federal framework for stablecoins.
DTCC announced a partnership with The Canton Network to create on-chain infrastructure.

To date, cryptocurrency prices have been a distraction as many hear “blockchain,” “tokenization,” or “digital asset” and think Bitcoin speculation, among other negatives associated with crypto. Many have used the emergence of the internet as a good analogy; the dot-com crash of 2000 did not stop the internet from transforming commerce, media, and communication. Blockchain technology is similar in that it will outlast speculation and evolve toward broader adoption in real-world applications. In relation to recent activity, what’s changed is that these aren’t startups pitching whitepapers.

The NYSE, DTCC, NASDAQ, and others are building production-grade infrastructure within current regulatory frameworks with approval. To quote BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, “Every stock, every bond, every fund, every asset can be tokenized.”

Despite these efforts, the challenges ahead are real, and careful consideration is required. The NYSE/Intercontinental Exchange tokenized platform still needs SEC and FINRA approvals. There are also questions of how moving to a 24/7 market will impact current regulations and processes. How are management disclosures of material news handled? How do market circuit breakers work? Does tokenizing an asset create market pricing distortions? There is also the issue of the potential for fragmentation given the lack of technology standards. Currently, there are differing philosophical opinions regarding the infrastructure: Should it be proprietary, an open standard (completely decentralized), privacy first, or some form of hybrid approach? The competition among standards is not likely to be settled quickly, but no matter which dominates, it will shape how capital moves globally for the next generation.

The Impact: What Does This Mean To You?

The entire financial service ecosystem will see a number of opportunities and challenges.

Asset managers will have the ability to create new products and distribution rails, as well as access to new investors, while potentially facing competitive pressures from platforms offering 24/7 access to investors trading and managing assets globally. This should be viewed both as a potential disruption to current business models and an opportunity to create new products and services for investors. The same is true for broker-dealers, some of whom have already received Special Purpose Broker-Dealer licenses from FINRA to serve the digital asset marketplace. In addition, both will see impacts across operational and compliance functions. How will settlement workflows change when settlement becomes near instantaneous? How are KYC/AML processes and compliance functions impacted? How do they retool processes and workforces in a blockchain environment?

Banks are also seeing tokenization as both a threat and an opportunity. In JPMC’s 2025 annual letter to shareholders, Jamie Dimon addressed tokenization, writing:

"A whole new set of competitors is emerging based on blockchain."
"These include stablecoins, smart contracts, and other forms of tokenization."
"They may change the fundamental nature of how payments, trading, and asset management work."
"We need to roll out our own blockchain technology."
"We cannot assume that our traditional advantages will protect us."

Clearly, JPMC is not alone, and banks will have to rethink some of their product offerings to customers as new competitors and technologies change the fundamental nature of how money is held, moved, invested, managed, and raised.

In addition, the concept of custody is changing. Currently, asset ownership is evidenced by the holding of a certificate or an electronic representation of a certificate. In a tokenized or blockchain environment, custody is evidenced by control of a cryptographic key. Traditional custodians and new entrants such as Fireblocks and Coinbase Custody are all creating solutions to define what that means, how they serve customers, fiduciary compliance, regulatory compliance, and emerging cybersecurity threats.

Investors and traditional businesses will also have to consider the challenges and opportunities created by tokenized solutions. This includes the ability to access markets 24/7, participate in fractionalized asset ownership, and use stablecoins both as a means of payment or receipt of payment for products and services.

The bottom line is not whether this will happen, but rather where you fit into the structure that emerges, and how you take advantage of the opportunities without being disrupted.

How EisnerAmper Can Help

The regulatory and tax landscape for digital assets is shifting rapidly, and staying ahead of these changes requires more than just awareness — it requires a trusted advisor with the technical depth to act on them.

EisnerAmper provides digital asset advisory services, along with a full range of services needed to operate with confidence in the digital assets space: