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Blockchain.com and NYSE Group have signed a memorandum of understanding that would give Blockchain.com's users access to tokenized US exchange-listed equities and ETFs on the NYSE's planned digital alternative trading system, the companies announced on Sept. 23.
The agreement is an exploratory distribution plan and remains "subject to any required regulatory approvals." No financial terms or launch date were disclosed. The NYSE venue itself has not launched. The exchange unveiled plans in January for a tokenized securities platform supporting 24/7 trading of US-listed stocks and ETFs, fractional shares, stablecoin-based funding and instant onchain settlement.
"Connecting to the NYSE digital ATS will enable us to extend the opportunity to invest in these digital assets to tens of millions of Blockchain.com users around the world," said Peter Smith, Blockchain.com's co-founder and CEO.
NYSE Group President Lynn Martin called Blockchain.com "a natural complement to our tokenized securities platform upon launch," pointing to its international footprint and digital asset expertise.
The MOU also covers market data in both directions. ICE Data Services plans to distribute Blockchain.com's crypto market data and analytics to its subscribers, while Blockchain.com plans to bring certain ICE and NYSE exchange data feeds into its app, which the company says has more than 44 million confirmed accounts.
The agreement follows a pattern set by NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange this year. ICE invested in OKX in March at a $25 billion valuation, with OKX's users slated to get access to NYSE tokenized equities, and the NYSE signed an MOU with Securitize the same month to mint blockchain-native securities on the platform. Crypto exchanges give the NYSE a route to offshore retail investors who already hold stablecoins and are used to trading around the clock.
The regulatory ground is moving quickly. Last week the SEC issued an "innovation exemption" allowing tokenized NMS stocks to trade onchain on qualifying venues for five years, subject to caps on symbols and trading volume. Rival Nasdaq won SEC approval in March to trade tokenized shares on its existing order book, though only during regular market hours.
For Blockchain.com, the partnership lands as it prepares to go public. The company confidentially filed for a US IPO in May. The release does not say whether US-based users would be eligible, which will determine how much of that 44 million account figure the NYSE can actually reach.
