Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman: Tokenization Could Release Hundreds of Billions in Trapped Capital
Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman stated at TOKEN2049 in Singapore that tokenizing government bonds, stocks, money market funds, and cash flows could make collateral more liquid, thereby releasing hundreds of billions of dollars trapped in the global financial system. She told CNBC that once these tools and cash flows are tokenized, the collateral will become very liquid.
She attributed part of the rising institutional interest to the U.S. passing the Genius Act, which established a regulatory framework for stablecoins. She said that if currency can be tokenized, capital flows can also be tokenized. She did not provide a breakdown of the hundreds of billions nor did she say this is revenue already realized by Nasdaq.
The same statement points to 24-hour trading. Friedman mentioned that if the market operates seven days a week, institutions and banks must continuously manage risks and collateral; currently, much of this work is done during market closures. She anticipates that artificial intelligence will play a larger role in real-time risk control. This is an infrastructure assessment, not an indication that new trading hours have been launched.
Nasdaq has already taken corresponding actions. In September 2025, it submitted a proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to implement tokenized settlement for stocks and exchange-traded funds in the main market, rather than creating a separate sandbox. In March 2026, it proposed a framework for equity token design, emphasizing issuer choice and that tokenized shares would be subject to the same rules as ordinary shares.
Buyers are banks and institutions looking to reduce pressure on clearing and brokerage collateral, while sellers are clearinghouses and brokerage systems that still update collateral based on market closure batches. The event is driven by conference speeches, not transactions. Beneficiaries are exchanges and custodians that can simultaneously conduct tokenized settlements and stablecoin cash flows; those under pressure are intermediaries that rely on market closure windows to manage risks and profit from collateral retention.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Adena Friedman has been the CEO of Nasdaq since 2017, with a path to expand the exchange from matching fees to data, indices, and technology services. Tokenization is not the first step. In September 2025, Nasdaq submitted a proposal for main market tokenized settlement to the SEC, followed by a framework for equity tokens in March 2026 that emphasizes issuer options and equal rules. In November 2025, she mentioned at Ripple Swell that a large amount of capital is trapped in clearinghouses and brokerage pipelines. Her recent speech in Singapore reflects the same digital stance.
The money is not newly raised but is meant to mobilize existing capital trapped in collateral. Government bonds, stocks, and money market funds are currently transferred in batches, with reconciliations only during market closures; tokenization changes transfers to be divisible and movable on stablecoin rails. The Genius Act provided a compliant framework for dollar tokens, which is why she referred to "currency tokenization" as a prerequisite for capital flow. Nasdaq seeks settlement rights on the main order book, not to create a separate crypto exchange.
In comparison, there are the DTCC's securities token pilot and BlackRock's tokenized money market fund BUIDL. The former modifies the settlement pipeline, while the latter changes cash equivalents. Nasdaq is in a control phase from declaration frameworks to regulatory pilots, not in the expansion phase of the retail crypto space.
Structurally, this represents a reconstruction of the industry chain. The retention time of collateral was originally a buffer for clearinghouses and brokers, as well as capital occupation. If settlement and cash flows are on the same chain, the buffer shortens, and the hundreds of billions of dollars that are occupied will be released. Pricing power shifts from market closure batches to those who can provide 24-hour real-time risk control and compliant tokens.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Capital is not lacking; what is lacking is movable collateral.
Currency must go on-chain first, then capital flows can go on-chain.
In a 24-hour market, the first change is risk control, not the loudspeaker.