For crypto, the story is a structural tailwind rather than a price catalyst: institutions settling on blockchains widens the use case for public networks, but the economic benefit depends on which chains win the business. Ethereum’s lead in tokenized assets gives it the most to gain and the most to lose if issuers spread across rival chains or permissioned ledgers. Traders should watch the share data rather than read headlines like this as direct buying pressure on ETH. Nasdaq’s December extended-hours launch will also test whether traditional equities can absorb overnight risk the way crypto already does.
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Earlier:
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Friedman is selling the tokenization dream, but the near-term reality is a settlement pilot and a 23-hour session, not 24/7 markets, and not an automatic win for Ethereum.
Summary:
- Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman said at TOKEN2049 that tokenizing collateral assets and money could free tens of billions of dollars in capital
- The SEC approved a Nasdaq pilot in March letting Russell 1000 stocks and major index ETFs settle as blockchain tokens on the same order book as ordinary shares
- Friedman said 24/7 trading would require real-time risk and collateral management, with Nasdaq deploying AI agents in its risk platform
- Nasdaq is targeting 6 December for 23-hour, five-day equity trading
- Ethereum holds roughly 45% of about $38 billion in tokenized real-world assets, though its share has been slipping
- Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said overseas companies are exploring tokenization to reach US capital markets
Tokenization could release tens of billions of dollars in capital currently tied up as collateral across the financial system, Nasdaq chief executive Adena Friedman said at the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore, speaking to CNBC. Her argument is that if Treasurys, equities, money market funds and cash itself move as digital tokens, collateral can shift between institutions far more quickly than it does today. She did not set out how the figure was calculated, so it is best treated as her estimate.
The comments carry more weight because Nasdaq is already building parts of this. The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved a Nasdaq pilot in March that lets Russell 1000 stocks and major index ETFs settle as blockchain tokens. A tokenized share trades on the same order book, at the same price and under the same ticker as the ordinary share. The only difference is where it settles: on a blockchain rather than in the Depository Trust Company’s traditional book-entry system. Separately, the DTCC is running a three-year pilot that starts with tokenized Treasury entitlements before extending to equities, which matters because Treasurys are the core collateral asset in Friedman’s argument.
Friedman credited last year’s Genius Act, which created a US framework for stablecoins, with lifting institutional interest, since tokenized money is what allows the flow of capital to move on the same rails.
The harder part, she said, is running markets around the clock. Banks have traditionally used closed hours to update systems and manage risk, and continuous trading would push collateral and risk management into real time. Nasdaq has launched AI agents in its risk platform that currently make recommendations and could later act directly. Its first step is narrower than 24/7: it is targeting 6 December for a 23-hour, five-day equity session. When that plan was announced in April, only about 2% of Nasdaq equity volume traded outside its existing extended hours, which supports Friedman’s own caution that not every asset is liquid enough for round-the-clock trading.
For Ethereum, the link is real but indirect. Ethereum hosts the largest share of tokenized real-world assets, roughly 45% of about $38 billion in early August according to rwa.xyz data cited by Crypto Briefing, though that share has been slipping as other chains grow. Nasdaq’s pilot lets buyers choose the blockchain, so wider tokenization does not automatically mean more demand for ETH. Kraken co-chief executive Arjun Sethi added that companies outside the US are exploring tokenization as a route into American capital markets.
The next markers are the 23-hour launch in December, the first token-settled trades under Nasdaq’s pilot, and whether Ethereum holds its lead as tokenized collateral starts to scale.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.