Nasdaq CEO: Tokenization Could Free Tens of Billions in Capital

Tokenizing the instruments that back trades along with the money that moves between them could release tens of billions of dollars now locked up as collateral, Nasdaq chief executive Adena Friedman said at the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore, according to Cnbc.

Speaking with CNBC’s Joanna Ossinger, Friedman argued that representing Treasurys, equities and money market funds as blockchain tokens, alongside tokenized cash flows, would let collateral circulate far more freely. “If you tokenize all those instruments along with the flow of money, then the collateral becomes very fluid,” she said.

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Key facts

• Friedman said tokenization could free tens of billions of dollars in capital tied up in assets used as collateral, and Nasdaq estimates large financial institutions could earn up to $340 million a year in extra interest by freeing that collateral, per Coincentral.
• Friedman pointed to the U.S. Genius Act, which set a regulatory framework for stablecoins, as part of the reason institutional interest has grown over the past year.
• Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi told CNBC that companies outside the U.S. are exploring tokenization and access to American capital markets, including one business with roughly $25 million in revenue.
• Coincentral reported that the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp plans to launch a platform this month letting firms tokenize stocks and ETFs, after a one-day trial this summer involving JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and the New York Stock Exchange.
• Cryptobriefing reported that Nasdaq introduced an equity token design framework in March 2026 that prioritizes issuer choice and regulatory equivalence, and that the exchange filed an SEC proposal in September 2025 to enable tokenized settlement of equities and ETFs on its main markets.

From collateral to clock

Friedman framed the prize as liquidity, not novelty. Collateral and cash sit idle inside clearinghouses and brokerage plumbing while trades settle, a pool of capital that is not short but parked in the wrong place, as Cryptobriefing put it. The Kraken comments illustrate what is at stake for companies: Sethi described a roughly $25 million-revenue firm looking to reach U.S. capital markets, and larger international companies weighing public listings.

The industry is not starting from zero. Nasdaq’s September 2025 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission covered tokenized settlement on its primary markets while keeping the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation as the settlement backbone, with an optional route to digital wallets, per Cryptobriefing. The March 2026 framework added rules meant to give issuers a say in whether their shares are tokenized and to keep tokenized shares under the same regime as conventional ones.

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Regulators have moved too. Coincentral reported the SEC issued an exemption allowing new trading venues to skip some rules traditional exchanges must follow, with Chairman Paul Atkins saying the aim is to let the market evolve while regulators learn from it.

A 24/7 market and the AI that would run it

Retail demand and institutional interest are converging, Friedman said, noting that the retail ecosystem “has been about 10 years ahead” in wanting round-the-clock access. Banks have historically used closed-market windows to update systems and manage risk; continuous trading would require that work to happen constantly. “Everything has to be real time all the time,” she said, adding that “AI is critical for 24/7.” Nasdaq has already deployed digital agents inside its risk platform that initially offer recommendations, with Friedman suggesting banks could later let those agents act more directly.

She also set a limit on the idea, saying not every asset is liquid enough for a 24/7 environment. Mark Hays of Americans for Financial Reform, cited by Coincentral, warned that faster trading could make markets more prone to sudden crashes without proper safeguards.

Why it matters

If tokenized settlement works as pitched, the immediate winners would be the institutions that post collateral and wait for trades to settle, since capital released from clearing and brokerage systems could be deployed elsewhere. Nasdaq’s decision to keep DTCC in the middle of the process lowers the adoption risk for cautious firms that do not want to abandon systems they already trust. For ordinary investors, faster settlement could eventually shorten tasks such as switching brokerages, which today can take days.

What to watch

Three concrete markers will show whether the pitch becomes plumbing: how the SEC handles Nasdaq’s September 2025 filing, how issuers respond to the March 2026 token design framework, and whether DTCC’s platform, reported by Coincentral as due this month, goes live with the stock and ETF tokenization it has promised.

This article is not financial advice. Digital-asset and equity markets are volatile and uncertain, and readers should make their own decisions.

Written by

Benjamin

Benjamin Carter covers business, finance, and the stock market for StockPil, focusing on the trends and data that matter to everyday investors.

Sources: CNBC, Cryptobriefing, Coincentral