The New York Stock Exchange has reportedly spent about a year testing Avalanche technology as it explores blockchain infrastructure for tokenized securities.
Ava Labs President Charley Cooper said NYSE has been working closely with Ava Labs while evaluating whether Avalanche could support parts of its planned digital securities platform.
However, NYSE has not confirmed that Avalanche will be the blockchain used for the project.
The exchange is still evaluating different networks as it develops infrastructure that could eventually support tokenized U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds.
NYSE has been testing Avalanche for around a year
Speaking at the Avalanche Summit in New York, Cooper said NYSE had been examining both the technical capabilities and economic structure of Avalanche.
According to Cooper, the discussions went beyond simply testing blockchain performance.
NYSE also wanted to understand whether Ava Labs had a strong grasp of how major securities markets operate, including the economic and business requirements involved in running large-scale financial infrastructure.
The two organizations have developed what Cooper described as a close working relationship during the process.
Still, he stopped short of saying that Avalanche had been officially selected for NYSE’s tokenized securities plans.
ICE says Avalanche meets many of its requirements
Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of NYSE, has also been actively evaluating blockchain technology.
Michael Blaugrund, ICE’s Head of Strategic Initiatives, said the company remains highly engaged with the Avalanche team.
He noted that Avalanche meets many of the requirements ICE is considering as it evaluates blockchain networks for its future onchain infrastructure.
NYSE has not publicly confirmed which blockchain, or combination of blockchains, will ultimately support the platform.
Instead, the planned infrastructure is being designed with support for multiple blockchain networks for settlement and custody.
That approach could allow the exchange to use different networks depending on specific technical or regulatory requirements.
NYSE plans a separate tokenized securities platform
NYSE has been developing its blockchain-based securities initiative throughout 2026.
The project is designed to combine the exchange’s existing Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based post-trade infrastructure.
Subject to regulatory approval, the platform could support tokenized versions of traditional securities as well as securities issued directly onchain.
Planned features reportedly include continuous trading, near-immediate settlement, fractional share ownership, dollar-denominated orders, and stablecoin-based funding.
Tokenized investors would still retain traditional shareholder rights associated with the underlying securities, including dividends and governance rights.
However, NYSE’s blockchain initiative does not mean the exchange plans to move its entire traditional stock market onto blockchain technology.
Instead, NYSE is developing a separate digital venue designed to connect regulated U.S. financial infrastructure with blockchain-based settlement.
Tokenized stocks could combine blockchain with traditional markets
Tokenization allows traditional financial assets, such as stocks and ETFs, to be represented digitally on blockchain networks.
The technology could make it possible to settle certain transactions faster while supporting programmable ownership and potentially extending trading availability.
NYSE’s planned platform would seek to combine those blockchain capabilities with its existing market infrastructure.
The platform is expected to operate through qualified broker-dealers and would still need to comply with U.S. securities regulations.
If approved, investors could potentially trade blockchain-based versions of existing securities while maintaining many of the same rights associated with conventional shares.
ICE expands its blockchain infrastructure partnerships
ICE has also been building relationships with other companies that could support NYSE’s digital securities platform.
In August, ICE agreed to invest in tZERO and license some of its blockchain-related patents.
tZERO is expected to help develop infrastructure for digital transfer agents, broker-dealers, securities issuance, trading, and blockchain-based settlement.
The companies did not disclose the size of ICE’s investment or provide a launch date for the NYSE-linked platform.
The agreement also does not make tZERO the project’s exclusive infrastructure provider.
NYSE previously signed a separate memorandum with Securitize, naming the company as its first eligible digital transfer agent for participating issuers.
Securitize could help companies create and manage blockchain-native securities through the platform.
NYSE remains open to multiple blockchain networks
One of the most important parts of NYSE’s strategy is that the underlying blockchain infrastructure has not yet been finalized.
Rather than building the entire platform around a single network, its post-trade architecture is intended to support several blockchains.
This could give NYSE greater flexibility when handling settlement, custody, and tokenized asset issuance.
Avalanche remains one of the networks being evaluated, but no final decision has been publicly announced.
The year-long collaboration with Ava Labs nevertheless suggests that Avalanche is being seriously examined as part of NYSE’s blockchain strategy.
Avalanche expands its institutional tokenization presence
Avalanche has already been gaining traction in regulated tokenization projects outside the United States.
In Japan, tokenization platform Progmat moved its active security token projects from Corda 5 to a dedicated Avalanche Layer 1.
The migration represented more than ¥452 billion in underlying assets and issued securities.
Moving to Avalanche gave Progmat’s assets Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility while allowing the company to maintain its existing processes for issuance, ownership, and transfers.
Avalanche has also gained exposure to tokenized securities infrastructure in South Korea.
Hanwha Investment & Securities reportedly completed a platform supporting Avalanche and Hyperledger Besu as South Korea prepares for blockchain-based securities to become part of its regulated capital markets framework.
SEC action could support tokenized stock growth
The regulatory environment surrounding tokenized stocks is also evolving.
According to the report, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently granted eligible trading venues conditional relief allowing qualifying tokenized U.S. stocks to trade through permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools.
The five-year exemption applies under specific conditions relating to shareholder rights, smart contracts, trading limits, and coordinated market halts.
The regulatory development could create additional opportunities for blockchain-based securities platforms.
Cooper suggested that some trading venues could begin offering 24-hour weekday access to tokenized equities within the next year.
However, he did not predict that major exchanges such as NYSE, CME, or the London Stock Exchange would necessarily move on the same timetable.
Smaller platforms may move more quickly as they compete to attract liquidity and users.
Blockchain could reshape securities settlement
NYSE’s work with Avalanche shows how major financial institutions are increasingly exploring blockchain infrastructure rather than limiting the technology to cryptocurrency markets.
The biggest potential changes may come from how securities are issued, transferred, settled, and held rather than simply from moving stock trading onto public blockchains.
Blockchain-based settlement could reduce the time between a trade and its completion while potentially making assets easier to move between compatible financial platforms.
At the same time, major exchanges must deal with strict requirements involving custody, investor protection, market integrity, compliance, and regulatory oversight.
NYSE’s testing of Avalanche therefore represents one part of a broader effort to determine how blockchain can be integrated into established financial markets.
For now, Avalanche remains under consideration rather than officially selected.
The final infrastructure behind NYSE’s tokenized securities venue will depend on further technical testing, partnerships, and regulatory approvals.
