The market for U.S. equities is stretching beyond its traditional hours as overseas platforms accelerate the adoption of 24/5 trading through tokenized stocks. A growing number of brokers and exchanges are offering non-U.S. clients round-the-clock access to tokens representing shares of major American companies, a trend that pressures U.S. regulators to clarify their stance on the new financial instruments.
"We know that our clients’ needs are different. Some look for opportunities beyond market hours; others seek higher potential, and STARTRADER responds to both while operating within a regulated framework," Peter Karsten, CEO of STARTRADER, said in a recent announcement.
The development has seen brokers like STARTRADER introduce 24/5 trading on 20 actively traded U.S. stocks, identified with a ".24H" suffix, while crypto exchange MEXC continues to expand its list of tokenized stocks in partnership with Ondo Finance. New AI-native platforms like Stockcoin.ai are also entering the space, using Ondo's tokenized assets to offer trading to non-U.S. investors. This global momentum is creating a liquid, continuous market that operates while U.S. exchanges are dark.
The key implication is the potential for a more global, accessible, and liquid market for U.S. equities, but it hinges on the U.S. regulatory response. While the SEC's recent guidance has acknowledged the need for clarity, it stops short of providing a clear framework, particularly for secondary market transactions on exchanges where the buyer and seller are unknown to each other. The industry awaits a definitive rule that could either unlock trillions in value or keep the U.S. market on the sidelines of its own tokenized assets.
Global Exchanges Lead the Charge
The push for 24/5 U.S. equity access is being led by platforms outside of America. STARTRADER's launch of extended-hours trading on 20 key stocks is a direct response to global demand. These instruments are offered with 5:1 leverage to support liquidity during off-hours. Similarly, MEXC has been steadily adding to its tokenized stock offerings, recently listing three new pairs from Ondo Finance, bringing assets like FLQLON/USDT to its 40 million users. These platforms are effectively creating a parallel market for U.S. stocks that operates on the 24/7 logic of the crypto industry, not the 9:30-to-4:00 schedule of Wall Street.
Nasdaq Prepares for On-Chain Equities
The trend is not limited to crypto-native firms. Nasdaq is actively developing a platform for issuing and trading tokenized equities, partnering with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken. The exchange operator, which received SEC approval last month for tokenized versions of listed stocks, aims to have its platform operational in the first half of 2027. This move signals a broader institutional acceptance and an acknowledgment that the future of equity trading may involve blockchain technology. Nasdaq's approach aims to integrate on-chain records with official share registries, ensuring that token holders retain the same rights as traditional shareholders.
Regulatory Haze Clouds US Entry
Despite the global momentum, the path to launching tokenized stocks in the United States remains clouded by regulatory uncertainty. The SEC's recent guidance, while a step away from the "regulation by enforcement" campaign of the past, fails to provide the clear rules the industry needs. According to an analysis by Gibson Dunn attorneys, the guidance does not clarify whether an "investment contract" requires actual contractual obligations, a key point of contention in cases like the one against Ripple.
The regulator has not explicitly endorsed Judge Analisa Torres's approach in the Ripple case, which distinguished between direct sales to institutional investors and "blind bid-ask" transactions on secondary markets. This ambiguity leaves exchanges, issuers, and investors exposed to potential legal risks and could stifle the development of a domestic market for tokenized stocks, even as demand grows globally. The industry continues to advocate for clear rules that would allow the U.S. to participate in the market it created.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
