Key Takeaways
- Global bourse operators are racing to build and implement tokenized asset systems.
- Nasdaq’s head of digital assets said the company is ready to move on to tokenized stocks as soon as it receives the SEC greenlight.
- London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has earmarked around £100 million for blockchain infrastructure.
As global bourse operators race to develop blockchain and tokenization technology, Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) are moving full steam ahead.
Both firms have staked a lot on the future of finance being on-chain and have already laid the technological and political groundwork for adoption.
Nasdaq Seeks SEC Approval To List Tokenized Stocks
Amid rising interest in tokenized real-world assets, in September, Nasdaq proposed a rule change to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that would let it list tokenized securities.
Speaking on CNBC last week, Matt Savarese, the exchange’s head of digital assets, said the proposal aimed to expand choice for companies and investors.
On- and off-chain shares should be fully fungible, and shareholders should always have the same rights no matter what underlying technology is used to record ownership, he said.
Assuming the SEC approves its proposal, Nasdaq is primed to move “as fast as we can,” Savarese stressed, stating that “we hope to work with them as quickly as possible.”
If Nasdaq’s appeal to the SEC is about enabling tokenization, it leaves the technological heavy lifting to companies like Securitize and Superstate.
That approach contrasts with the one taken by LSEG, which has staked a claim for the material infrastructure of tokenization.
LSEG Earmarks £100 Million for Blockchain Infrastructure
After multiple years of development, LSEG debuted its new “Digital Markets Infrastructure” (DMI) in September.
Built using a private ledger in partnership with Microsoft, DMI supports the full asset lifecycle, from issuance and tokenization to post-trade settlement and servicing.
The platform is initially focused on private funds, but LSEG has ambitions to extend it to other markets.
According to two people familiar with the matter cited by Financial News London, the group has allocated around £100 million to support further growth and development.
Commenting on the possibility of listing tokenized shares on the London Stock Exchange, LSEG’s head of digital markets infrastructure, Darko Hajdukovic, said it wasn’t an immediate area of focus.
Ultimately, however, “we will go where our clients take us,” he added.
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James Morales is CCN’s blockchain and crypto policy reporter. He has been working in the news media since 2020, writing about topics such as payments, banking and financial technology. These days, he likes to explore the latest blockchain innovations and the evolving landscape of global crypto regulation.
With an educational background in social anthropology and media studies, James uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.
