Reuters

Wed, March 18, 2026 at 7:37 PM EDT 1 min read

March 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved a Nasdaq (^IXIC) proposal ‌to allow certain stocks to be traded ‌and settled in tokenized form, according to a regulatory filing, ​marking a step toward integrating blockchain-based settlements into mainstream equity markets.

Exchange operators have been doubling down on their push to capitalize on the boom in ‌tokenization as regulations for ⁠cryptocurrencies ease under the Trump administration.

The move would allow investors to trade high-volume ⁠stocks as traditional shares or as blockchain-based digital tokens to be settled through the Depository Trust Company.

Nasdaq ​had ​filed a proposal with ​the SEC in September ‌to amend its rules to allow listed stocks and exchange-traded products to trade on its main market in either traditional or tokenized form.

Securities eligible for tokenized trading would initially be limited to stocks ‌in the Russell 1000 Index, ​as well as exchange-traded funds ​tracking major benchmarks ​such as the S&P 500 and ‌the Nasdaq 100, the filing ​said.

Rival Intercontinental Exchange ​also said earlier this year that it had developed a platform for trading and on-chain ​settlement of ‌tokenized securities, for which the NYSE parent is ​seekingregulatory approvals.

(Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; ​Editing by Alan Barona)