The iconic New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is set to make a monumental leap into the future of finance. Its parent company, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), has announced plans to build a revolutionary digital platform designed for the continuous, 24-hour trading of tokenised assets.
A Separate Venue for the Digital Age
This new platform will operate independently from the traditional NYSE trading floor, which is only active on weekdays. The core aim is to create a dedicated venue where investors can buy and sell digital tokens representing real-world assets at any time of day or night. On Monday 19 January 2026, ICE confirmed the initiative, highlighting key features including instant settlement of transactions and the ability to place orders sized in specific dollar amounts.
How Tokenisation and Stablecoins Power the System
The platform's foundation is tokenisation, a process using blockchain technology—the same system behind cryptocurrencies—to create digital tokens. These tokens act as digital stand-ins for traditional assets like stocks, bonds, real estate, or even fractional ownership of high-value items such as art. This technology enables near-universal trading access, allowing virtually anyone, anywhere, to participate.
A critical component for funding this new ecosystem will be stablecoins. These are a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to a stable value, like the US dollar. Their reliability has been a significant driver in building market confidence and appetite for tokenising other financial assets, making them ideal for settling trades on the proposed NYSE platform.
Regulatory Hurdles and Banking Backing
The exchange was clear that the launch of this new trading venue is contingent on the platform successfully navigating regulatory scrutiny. Assuming it receives the necessary approvals, the platform will facilitate the trading of tokenised versions of company shares and other securities.
This development is a strategic part of ICE's broader ambition to expand its clearing capabilities to handle tokenised securities trading round-the-clock. The project also explores the potential for integrating tokenised collateral into the financial system. To bring this vision to life, Intercontinental Exchange is collaborating with major financial institutions including Citigroup and Bank of New York Mellon. These partnerships are focused on supporting tokenised deposits across ICE's six global clearinghouses.
The move signals a profound shift in the infrastructure of global markets, as one of the world's most established financial institutions seeks to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the burgeoning digital asset economy.
