Market tone: Bullish
Vivian Nguyen · Crypto Briefing · 2026-10-09T00:06:57.000Z
The exchange operator is pitching tokenized stocks as a fix for capital stuck in clearinghouses and brokerage plumbing
Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman thinks Wall Street has a cash problem. The problem isn’t a shortage. The cash is parked in the wrong places.
Speaking to CNBC, Friedman argued that tokenization could free up billions in trapped capital and make assets more liquid.
Where the money is stuck
At Ripple’s Swell conference on November 4, 2025, she said there is “just so much capital trapped” in how markets currently operate.
The capital she means sits inside clearinghouses and traditional brokerage systems. In markets, that deposit takes the form of collateral and funds held while trades settle. Settlement is the back-office step where cash and securities actually change hands. Until that step finishes, money sits idle, tied up in the process instead of working elsewhere.
Friedman’s case is that digital assets offer a way out. Tokenized securities could, in her framing, make collateral easier to move and speed up payments. Faster settlement means less money parked in limbo at any given moment.
Nasdaq is putting paperwork behind the talk
In September 2025, Nasdaq filed a proposal with the SEC to enable trading and tokenized settlement of equities and ETFs on its main markets. That’s not a side venue or a pilot sandbox. It covers the primary markets where Nasdaq does its core business.
The proposal keeps settlement running through the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, better known as DTCC. The novel piece is optional routing to digital wallets. Under the filing, settlement could be directed to a wallet rather than only a traditional account.
The news moving money, markets, and the world—before your day starts.
Daily. Free. Join 34,000+ readers across crypto, finance, and policy.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
Then in March 2026, Nasdaq introduced an equity token design framework. That framework prioritizes issuer choice and regulatory equivalence. Companies get a say in whether and how their shares are tokenized, and tokenized shares are meant to carry the same rules as regular ones.
Friedman has taken the tokenization pitch on tour. At the FIA Boca conference in March 2026, she offered the line that best sums up Nasdaq’s view.
“The next leg of innovation for securities markets.”
That was her description of tokenization. She returned to the theme at TOKEN2049 in Singapore in October, where she also discussed the potential for around-the-clock trading.
The crucial detail is what Nasdaq is not doing. The exchange isn’t launching a new cryptocurrency. It’s using token technology to improve existing equity and securities frameworks, and Friedman has framed the effort as one that keeps issuer control and regulatory compliance intact.
What this means for markets and investors
The most direct beneficiaries, if this works, would be the institutions that post collateral and wait on settlement. Freeing capital from clearinghouses and brokerage systems means that money could be deployed elsewhere.
By keeping the existing settlement backbone in place via DTCC, Nasdaq lowers the risk for cautious institutions and makes adoption more likely, since firms don’t have to abandon systems they already trust.
The risks are mostly about execution and approval. The SEC filing is a proposal, and the timeline for any final decision isn’t set in the available material. Regulatory equivalence also has to hold up in practice, meaning tokenized shares need to deliver the same investor protections as the traditional versions.
For investors, the practical watch list is short. Track the SEC’s handling of the September 2025 filing, how issuers respond to the March 2026 design framework, and whether the 24/7 trading conversation moves from conference stages into formal proposals.
Originally published by Crypto Briefing.