NYSE Just Found a 44 Million-User Gateway Into Crypto Markets

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has signed a preliminary deal with Blockchain.com that could let the crypto company’s users trade tokenized versions of U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

A tokenized stock is a digital version of a share recorded on a blockchain, a shared online ledger. Blockchain.com says it has more than 44 million confirmed accounts.

What the NYSE and Blockchain.com Tokenized Stocks Deal Covers

The two companies announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU), a non-binding agreement, on Wednesday. It gives Blockchain.com users a planned route into the NYSE’s digital alternative trading system (ATS), a regulated venue that is not a full stock exchange.

Trading would start only after regulators approve it, according to the announcement.

The deal also swaps data. ICE Data Services, part of NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), plans to sell Blockchain.com’s crypto market data to its clients. In return, Blockchain.com plans to show live NYSE and ICE stock prices inside its app.

“People shouldn’t be limited in owning stocks based on where they happen to live or the brokerage and information they may or may not have access to,” Peter Smith, CEO of Blockchain.com, said in the release.

Why the NYSE Wants Crypto Users

The NYSE first announced the venue in January. It promised trading around the clock, instant handover of shares and cash, funding with stablecoins, which are digital dollars, and purchases of partial shares. Token holders would keep dividends and voting rights, the exchange said.

Blockchain.com operates in more than 70 jurisdictions. NYSE Group President Lynn Martin called that international reach a “natural complement” to the platform.

The deal lands a week after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted a five-year tokenized stock exemption. That exemption requires tokens to carry the same rights as ordinary shares and bars synthetic copies.

Wall Street is also pricing the trend. Cantor Fitzgerald this week flagged 95% upside in Securitize, a firm that turns stocks into tokens. Separately, the Citi Institute forecasts a $5.5 trillion base case for tokenized assets by 2030.

Neither company gave a launch date. The next step is regulatory approval for the NYSE’s digital venue.