SEC approves Nasdaq tokenized stock pilot with Kraken
The SEC approved Nasdaq's proposal to trade tokenized versions of US stocks on blockchain infrastructure. Eligible participants can choose between traditional or tokenized shares of Russell 1000 companies, with both versions trading at identical prices.
Key Takeaway
Wall Street's first blockchain stock pilot brings crypto rails to traditional equities without changing prices or settlement speed.
The SEC approved Nasdaq's proposal Wednesday to launch a pilot program for tokenized stock trading, nine months after the exchange first filed its application in September 2025.
Tokenized shares will trade alongside traditional stocks on the same order book at the same price, with the same ticker and rights. The Depository Trust Company will partner with Nasdaq to handle the infrastructure, with only eligible participants allowed to join the pilot initially. Nasdaq Head of Digital Assets Matt Savarese said the program allows investors choice around how to settle and hold assets — either in tokenized form on blockchain or traditional form.
Russell 1000 Index companies are eligible for tokenization under the pilot, covering the largest 1,000 publicly-traded US firms by market cap. The SEC filing noted concerns around market surveillance and diverging prices, but said an amendment with more details addressed those issues.
Nasdaq announced its partnership with crypto exchange Kraken earlier this month to support the tokenized trading infrastructure. Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman said traders could flag transactions to settle either normally or into digital wallet infrastructure, with longer-term benefits including collateral mobility from compressed settlement cycles.
The approval comes as SEC Chair Paul Atkins said Tuesday the agency would seek public comment on crypto-related exemptions, including a fundraising exemption to allow some securities involving crypto to raise a set amount in any 12-month period while being exempted from registering under securities laws. Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the NYSE, invested in crypto exchange OKX in early March 2026 to launch tokenized stocks through a separate initiative.
This article was written based on reporting from Cointelegraph.
