NYSE Advances Toward Tokenized Stocks with DTC Pilot Program
The New York Stock Exchange has submitted a rule change request to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission aimed at enabling the trading of tokenized versions of eligible securities on its platform.
Summary
- NYSE seeks to allow tokenized securities to trade alongside conventional shares within the same exchange order book.
- Tokenized assets must retain the same ticker, CUSIP, rights, and privileges as their traditional counterparts.
- Clearing and settlement will continue to be conducted through the DTC, keeping tokenized trading within established market frameworks.
This filing contributes to a broader initiative by major exchanges aimed at integrating blockchain-based settlement within regulated market infrastructures.
The SEC notice indicates that NYSE submitted the proposed rule change on April 9. The changes would implement Rule 7.50 and modify several exchange regulations to facilitate the trading of securities in tokenized form during a pilot program conducted by the Depository Trust Company.
The DTC pilot is set to last for three years, per a no-action letter from the SEC issued in December 2025. The SEC published the NYSE notice on April 17, with public comments required by May 13.
Tokenized shares would maintain equivalent rights
According to the proposal, tokenized securities must remain equivalent to their traditional forms. They need to share the same CUSIP number, ticker, rights, and privileges as the original security.
The exchange stated that tokenized securities will trade on the same order book and adhere to the same execution priority rules. The filing affirms that tokenized securities must confer upon holders the same rights to dividends, voting, and residual assets as traditional shares.
Furthermore, the NYSE proposal does not establish a distinct crypto-oriented venue for stock trading. Instead, eligible members would place orders through the exchange and select instructions for DTC to clear and settle the transaction in tokenized format.
The filing asserts that tokenized securities may trade within the current national market system. NYSE is also “evaluating various tokenization methods” and may submit new proposals if it pursues an approach different from the DTC model.
Wider tokenization initiative reaches SEC
The NYSE’s filing is in line with similar actions from Nasdaq, which has recently revised its rules to permit tokenized securities trading during the DTC pilot. The NYSE proposal cites Nasdaq’s approved rule framework as its foundation.
Additionally, a separate filing from NYSE Arca caught the attention of crypto markets by identifying XRP, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana as assets that could comply with proposed commodity trust listing criteria. Crypto.news reported that the XRP filing does not officially designate XRP as a commodity under federal law.
These two filings highlight an increasing interest in tokenization encompassing both traditional securities and crypto-related products. However, the NYSE tokenized securities rule primarily focuses on regulated equities and exchange-traded products, not newly created digital tokens.