The traditional stock market is adopting a model long familiar to cryptocurrency traders. In April, the SEC approved Nasdaq's request to extend U.S. equity trading hours to 23 hours a day, five days a week, with new rules taking effect December 6. The extended session will run from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. ET. NYSE is also planning to extend its trading hours, moving toward an "always-on" market.
The push reflects measurable demand from traders seeking continuous market access. According to a Binance report, weekend trading volume in TradFi perpetual futures across crypto exchanges has surged to $28 billion, with Binance accounting for nearly half the total. The data indicates traders are already using cryptocurrency markets to gain 24/7 exposure to traditional assets.
Nasdaq President Tal Cohen noted that retail investors accustomed to crypto's round-the-clock markets are driving the shift. "The new wave of retail investors is already used to 24/7 crypto markets and as a result, equities are gravitating towards almost 24-hour trading," he said.
Infrastructure Challenges Emerge
Extending trading hours presents significant technical hurdles. Nasdaq highlighted that continuous operations would require clearing houses, brokers, and settlement systems to run longer, reducing time for maintenance, risk checks, and batch processing.
The SEC has identified multiple infrastructure challenges for continuous trading, including clearing, collateral, payments, settlement, default management, cybersecurity, and liquidity. SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins noted that while longer trading could improve liquidity, it could also fragment it and impact price discovery and execution quality.
Blockchain networks, which already operate 24/7 with built-in trading, settlement, and ownership mechanisms, offer a contrast to traditional systems requiring infrastructure overhauls.
Tokenized Assets Gain Ground
Tokenized equities have emerged as a significant asset class. Total tokenized equities supply across blockchains reached a record $3 billion, up from around $640 million at the beginning of the year, representing a 369% increase, according to Blockworks data.
On Solana, tokenized equities account for $8.2 billion of the blockchain's $14.7 billion in total real-world asset trading volume, making them the largest RWA category. Notably, 63% of this trading volume occurs when U.S. markets are closed, demonstrating how investors are using blockchain infrastructure to trade outside traditional Wall Street hours.
Beyond Trading Hours
While Wall Street's move toward 24/7 trading addresses one advantage crypto holds, industry analysis suggests the deeper competition lies in infrastructure. Faster settlement, higher throughput, and tokenization further distinguish blockchain-based markets.
Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko emphasized the competitive edge: "We have an advantage because we can move faster, we're global. A lot of these companies that have built their businesses around regulatory captured markets are stuck in the way that they do things."
As traditional finance adopts crypto-like features, the core question shifts from who can trade 24/7 to who can build faster, cheaper, and more efficient infrastructure for continuous markets.
