NYSE adds Blockchain.com gateway for $5.5 trillion tokenized market

NYSE added Blockchain.com as a prospective gateway to its planned market for tokenized US stocks. Citi Institute estimates that tokenized financial assets could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030 in its base case. The market is worth about $17 billion currently. Citi's bull case reaches $8.2 trillion. NYSE Group and Blockchain.com signed a memorandum of understanding on Sept. 23. The agreement could give Blockchain.com users access to US-listed shares and exchange-traded funds through NYSE's planned digital trading venue. The trading access remains subject to regulatory approval. The agreement establishes a two-way market-data relationship covering stocks and crypto. Blockchain.com says it has more than 44 million confirmed accounts. Blockchain.com already distributes tokenized US equities through a separate partnership with Ondo Finance. NYSE announced plans in January for 24-hour trading of tokenized US shares and exchange-traded funds. The venue would support fractional orders. The venue would provide immediate on-chain settlement. The venue would use stablecoin-based funding. The venue would support tokenized versions of traditionally issued securities. The venue would also support assets issued directly in digital form. The platform would preserve shareholder rights such as dividends and voting. Citi estimates that tokenized public-equity demand could reach about $2.6 trillion if 10% of US retail investors adopt on-chain products by the end of the decade. Around-the-clock access could attract digitally native investors. Fractional ownership could attract digitally native investors. Faster settlement could attract digitally native investors. Intercontinental Exchange reached a strategic agreement with OKX in March. That agreement envisages giving OKX customers access to NYSE tokenized-equity markets. OKX says it serves more than 120 million accounts globally. NYSE named Securitize as the first digital transfer agent eligible to mint blockchain-native securities for issuers using the planned platform. Securitize would support issuance and on-chain settlement. Blockchain.com's integration with Ondo Finance gives eligible customers in Europe access to more than 200 tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds through Ondo's DeFi wallet. The integration followed earlier rollouts in markets including Nigeria and South America. NYSE's planned venue would trade tokenized securities within an exchange framework. The venue would include shares that are fungible with conventionally issued securities. ICE Data Services plans to distribute Blockchain.com's crypto pricing and analytics to institutional data subscribers. Blockchain.com intends to integrate ICE and NYSE feeds into its app. Some of the data will also feed June, Blockchain.com's AI-based market assistant. The companies have not disclosed when Blockchain.com users could connect to the NYSE venue. The companies have not disclosed which securities would be available. The companies have not disclosed which jurisdictions would qualify.