NYSE Hands Avalanche the Keys to Wall Street’s Tokenized Stock Vault 🗝️

The New York Stock Exchange selected Avalanche as the core settlement ledger for the clearing firm supporting its planned tokenized securities platform, placing the blockchain at the center of a Wall Street effort to support 24/7 trading, clearing and settlement. The NYSE-affiliated digital alternative trading system remains subject to regulatory approval and could launch before the end of 2026, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Avalanche said the NYSE will build the platform’s core clearing and settlement layer on its network. “Avalanche will support the platform’s clearing firm, supporting the development of infrastructure for 24/7 trading, clearing, and settlement,” the network said, calling the selection a “landmark step toward the next generation of global financial markets.” The platform will accept equities issued across a range of blockchains, while Avalanche will record trades and finalize transactions.

“At the NYSE, we’re looking at how blockchain technology can expand what we offer in equities, and we’re picking the right technology for each job,” said Dennis Lee, NYSE’s head of digital issuance. He said the settlement ledger needed to be fast and reliable, keep costs predictable, control participation and have a large community of developers behind it. “Avalanche meets all those needs,” Lee said. The planned platform pairs the NYSE’s Pillar trading engine with blockchain-based clearing, settlement and custody, with goals including 24/7 trading, instant settlement and stablecoin-based funding.

The announcement lifted Avalanche’s $AVAX token by as much as 10% on Monday, making it the top gainer among the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. $AVAX later traded at $8.86 at 03:22 p.m. UTC, up more than 8%, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.95 billion and $439.7 million in daily trading volume. DeFiLlama reported Avalanche’s total value locked at $633 million, up 4% over 24 hours. On Tuesday, $AVAX reached $8.60, gaining 5.2% over 24 hours, after rising as high as $8.99; 24-hour trading volume reached $537 million, an increase of nearly 448% from the previous day.

NYSE’s selection comes amid broader competition to build blockchain-based securities infrastructure. Nasdaq announced plans in September to invest $100 million in Kraken’s parent company, Payward, to launch tokenized stocks. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation launched a tokenization service using its private Besu blockchain and the Canton Network, while ICE and OKX are planning a 24/7 tokenized stock venue under an SEC exemption. That project has drawn objections from all seven Magnificent Seven companies—Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia and Tesla—as well as 60 other issuers. NYSE also partnered with Blockchain.com to reach crypto investors with tokenized stocks and ETFs, and Morgan Stanley has moved to tokenize securities.