NYSE Signs Preliminary MOU With Blockchain.com to Distribute Tokenised US Stocks

NYSE Group and Blockchain.com signed a preliminary memorandum of understanding on Wednesday that would turn the crypto platform into a distribution channel for NYSE's planned tokenised-securities venue, subject to regulatory approval. The agreement is designed to give Blockchain.com's users access to tokenised US-listed equities and ETFs once the exchange's digital alternative trading system (ATS) goes live.

NYSE first announced the tokenised-securities venue in January 2026, outlining 24-hour trading, fractional orders, stablecoin-based funding and on-chain settlement running on its Pillar matching engine. The exchange needs reach beyond its existing client base to make that model viable, and Blockchain.com brings more than 44 million confirmed accounts spanning over 70 jurisdictions — a crypto-native complement to NYSE's institutional footprint.

Roles kept separate

The structure splits responsibilities between the two firms. NYSE would keep the trading and matching infrastructure for the tokenised venue, while Blockchain.com supplies the customer-access and distribution layer, routing eligible users into the digital ATS rather than running a parallel trading or settlement system.

A linked market-data agreement runs alongside the MOU. ICE Data Services, an affiliate of NYSE parent ICE, will distribute Blockchain.com's crypto market data and analytics to its subscribing clients, while Blockchain.com intends to fold ICE and NYSE exchange data feeds into its own application.

Peter Smith, executive chairman, chief executive and co-founder of Blockchain.com, said a connection to the NYSE digital ATS would allow the company to extend tokenised-asset access to tens of millions of its users worldwide. Lynn Martin of NYSE Group said the future of capital markets belongs to institutions that combine traditional finance's trust with the accessibility of digital assets, and described Blockchain.com's international footprint and digital-asset expertise as a natural fit for the tokenised securities platform at launch.

Nothing is operational yet. The MOU is preliminary and the link to NYSE's digital ATS still requires regulatory clearance. Neither company has disclosed which jurisdictions would be covered, which legal entity would provide the service, how accounts would be opened, or how custody and eligibility would be handled. NYSE has also not said which stocks or ETFs would list first, or when the digital ATS will launch. Buyers of tokenised equities typically do not hold the full shareholder rights of conventional holders, although NYSE says its tokens would retain dividend and governance rights.