NYSE Selects Avalanche for Settlement Ledger of 24/7 Tokenized Stock Platform
Key Facts
Ava Labs announced on November 9 that Avalanche technology had been selected as the core ledger technology at the clearinghouse for a planned digital trading platform affiliated with the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE. The company said the platform, subject to regulatory approvals, is designed to enable trading, clearing and settlement around the clock. The announcement puts the network at the center of the clearing and settlement side of the proposed infrastructure, while stopping short of saying NYSE will operate a dedicated chain. The architecture separates a ledger that records and settles trades from the chains on which stocks may be listed. Ava Labs said the planned digital platform will rely on Avalanche to support its operations.
NYSE said the platform’s design combines its Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based post-trade systems. The design includes support for multiple settlement and custody chains, while the Avalanche ledger records and settles trades. This arrangement allows stocks to be listed on more than one chain, while using a dedicated ledger for post-trade operations. As a result, the selection of Avalanche does not mean tokenized stocks will be issued exclusively on its public network. The announced role for the technology is also focused on the clearinghouse’s core ledger within the proposed platform.
NYSE’s head of digital issuance said the settlement ledger must be fast and reliable, and allow the exchange to control participants and maintain predictable costs. These requirements reflect the importance of controlling access to the infrastructure that will record and settle trades, alongside performance and cost stability. The founder and chief executive of Ava Labs said dedicated infrastructure would support continuous, around-the-clock atomic settlement needs. He added that it would provide predictable performance and costs, with operational and regulatory controls. The statements from both parties place control over participation and reliability among the elements of the platform’s announced design.
The Block reported that Ava Labs said the selection followed about a year of testing, including NYSE’s evaluation of the technology and the project’s economics. That was preceded by a step to expand the exchange’s transfer-agent network: on November 2, NYSE announced the addition of Broadridge, Computershare, Equiniti and Superstate to Securitize and tZERO. The exchange said Computershare, Equiniti and Broadridge together serve about 5,000 listed companies, including nearly 99% of S&P 500 companies. The network provides partners to deliver shareholder services and ownership transfers as part of tokenized securities plans. These arrangements show that the platform project encompasses institutional infrastructure and post-trade services alongside the settlement ledger.
NYSE said the platform would include tokens held by third parties and issuer-sponsored tokenized securities. It added that holders of tokenized stocks would receive the same shareholder rights as holders of traditional stocks, including distributions and governance rights. On November 2, Broadridge announced plans to provide on-chain shareholder governance services and digital transfer-agent services for the platform. The company tied the start of those services to receiving regulatory approval. The plans combine token custody with shareholder services, while their implementation remains linked to the approval process.
The project comes amid a temporary, conditional exemption issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on September 17 for certain tokenized stock trading platforms. The exemption sets limits on the number of tokens traded and trading volumes, and requires platforms to verify that holders of tokenized stocks have rights equivalent to those of holders of traditional shares of the same class. The SEC said the exemptions expire five years after publication and invited public comment on the exemption and next steps. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the exemption allows trading in a permitted environment while the commission considers whether additional measures are needed. The proposed NYSE platform remains subject to the regulatory approvals applicable to it.
In market trading, CoinDesk reported that AVAX, the native token of the Avalanche network, rose 8% over 24 hours in an update published on November 9, citing a rally on the news. AVAX/USD closed at $8.656 on November 9, compared with a close of $7.936 on November 8, according to EL7 data. CoinDesk’s figure describes a 24-hour move at the time of its report update, while EL7’s data show closing prices for two separate days. The Block says the platform’s target launch is the fourth quarter of 2026, citing the Wall Street Journal. That expected timing remains subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.