Tokenization could unleash tens of billions of dollars in trapped capital, Nasdaq CEO says
- ID
- 33474
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 09 Oct 2026, 2:30 PM
- Fetched
- 09 Oct 2026, 2:57 PM
- Provider
- CNBC Technology
- Category
- technology
- Original URL
- https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/09/nasdaq-ceo-tokenization-could-unleash-billions-in-trapped-capital-.html
- Source URL
- https://www.cnbc.com/id/19854910/device/rss/rss.html
Summary
- Score
- 3.5
- Created
- 09 Oct 2026, 2:58 PM
- Tags
- Audience
- developerssaas_founders
What happened
At TOKEN2049 in Singapore on Oct 8, 2026, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman said tokenizing Treasurys, equities, money market funds and the flow of money itself would make collateral "very fluid" and free up tens of billions of dollars currently trapped in collateral across the global financial system. She added that a shift to 24/7 trading would require major changes to financial infrastructure, with AI playing a growing role in real-time risk management. Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi, speaking at the same event, said companies outside the U.S. are exploring tokenization and seeking greater access to American capital markets.
Why it matters
There is no product, timeline, or named institution behind the "tens of billions" figure, so treat this as directional positioning from an exchange CEO rather than something to build against this quarter. The one concrete signal for builders is the stated link between 24/7 trading and AI-driven real-time risk management, which is where infrastructure demand would actually show up; nothing here justifies re-architecting collateral or settlement systems yet.
Discussion angle
The event was in Singapore and the Kraken comment was about non-U.S. companies wanting access to U.S. capital markets, so ask: if tokenized collateral and 24/7 settlement arrive, which local players (brokers, payment rails, custody) would actually be positioned to plug in, and is anyone in the region building the real-time risk tooling that Friedman says the shift requires?