Nasdaq has accelerated its push to launch tokenized equity trading, with digital assets chief Matt Savarese confirming the exchange is moving "as fast as we can" to secure SEC approval for the hybrid model.
‘The Stock is the Stock’: Nasdaq Pushes for Onchain Equity Approval
1 December 2025 - 16:10 CET
By Matt Neill
Speaking to CNBC, Savarese framed the initiative not as a crypto side-bet but as a critical modernization of national market infrastructure. The proposed "stock tokens" would operate under existing regulations, sharing tickers and CUSIPs with underlying shares while carrying full voting and dividend rights.
“We’re not creating a new exotic instrument. The stock is the stock,” Savarese said, emphasizing that investor protections and order-book mechanics would remain identical even as settlement migrates to blockchain rails.
Infrastructure evolution
Nasdaq filed its rule-change request in September, seeking permission to trade listed equities and ETFs in both traditional and tokenized forms on the same order book.
The proposal relies on a "flag" system where traders can opt for tokenized settlement. Crucially, clearing would arguably continue to leverage the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) to ensure fungibility between the two formats, preventing liquidity fragmentation.
Savarese signaled that the exchange is currently fielding public comments and SEC queries, with the internal goal being "responsible, investor-led" adoption within the regulatory perimeter.
Competitors pressure
The urgency reflects a rapidly crowding field. Crypto-native platforms are already capitalizing on the demand for 24/7 trading and instant settlement.
- Robinhood has rolled out tokenized US stocks in Europe, offering round-the-clock access with ambitions to enable DeFi interoperability.
- Bitget recently reported a surge in tokenized equity trading, with volumes hitting $5bn as traders flocked to assets like MicroStrategy and Tesla.
- Galaxy Digital became the first Nasdaq-listed firm to tokenize its own shares on Solana via Superstate in September, bypassing the exchange layer entirely to offer onchain settlement.
The $2tn prize
The stakes are high. Standard Chartered forecasts the market for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), excluding stablecoins, could reach $2tn by 2028.
By forcing the issue now, Nasdaq is attempting to establish itself as the regulated bridge for this capital, envisioning a hybrid market where blue-chip stocks trade conventionally on the surface while ownership records increasingly migrate to the blockchain.
