Corporate & Securities Blog

On September 17, 2026, the SEC issued a five-year exemptive order—the “Innovation Exemption”—which allows certain trading platforms called tokenized securities venues (“TSVs”) that use blockchain technology to trade tokenized versions of exchange-listed, national market system (“NMS”) stocks. The exemptive relief took effect immediately, and for public companies, the principal takeaway is that an unaffiliated third party can tokenize a company’s stock without its involvement, leaving the issuer only 30 days to object.

On December 6, 2026, Nasdaq and several other U.S. national securities exchanges will add an overnight trading session from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. ET, Sunday through Thursday, to existing trading hours of 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET—extending the trading day to an almost-continuous 23 hours, 5 days a week. A one-hour trading pause will remain each weeknight from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET to complete system maintenance and clear trades. The SEC has conditionally approved “23/5” trading for the following exchanges: Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, 24X, Cboe EDGX, and MEMX, subject to the consolidated market data processors (SIPs) being ready to support overnight quotes and trades.