The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and its parent, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), have been conducting hands‑on tests of the Avalanche blockchain for roughly a year, aiming to assess its suitability for on‑chain settlement of tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs.
According to Avalanche Labs President Charley Cooper, the testing focused on Avalanche’s performance and its integration with the NYSE’s existing systems, including the Pillar matching engine that pairs buy and sell orders. ICE executives reported that Avalanche met many of the operational requirements set by the exchange and highlighted the network’s performance, interoperability, and custom subnets designed for compliance.
Despite these positive signals, ICE has not made a definitive blockchain selection, and any final decision will depend on regulatory approvals. The NYSE’s broader initiative, announced in January 2026, seeks to combine traditional trading infrastructure with blockchain capabilities to enable 24/7 trading, immediate settlement, and funding with stablecoins, subject to regulatory clearance.
By November 2026, major transfer agents such as Broadridge and Computershare were onboarded to the NYSE’s tokenized securities venue, handling shareholder records and on‑chain governance functions. In July 2026, Securitize tokenized $295 million of its own NYSE‑listed stock on both Avalanche and Solana, reflecting the NYSE’s multi‑blockchain approach.
The testing underscores Avalanche’s potential credibility boost, yet the network’s role in NYSE settlement remains a possibility rather than a confirmed outcome. The final blockchain choice and the implementation of stablecoin funding will hinge on regulatory approval.
