NYSE Tested Avalanche for On-Chain Trading for a Year

NYSE tested Avalanche for on-chain infrastructure for a year, and there is still no final choice of blockchain for tokenized securities. This matters for traders, issuers, and anyone following the stock market’s move on-chain.

This was said by Ava Labs President Charlie Cooper during the Avalanche Summit in New York. According to him, over the past 12 months NYSE has been checking Avalanche’s technical capabilities and separately evaluating the economics of the solution. Cooper also stressed that the exchange was looking not only at the code, but also at whether the Ava Labs team understands NYSE’s broader business needs.

Why is NYSE testing blockchain at all?

Because this is about tokenized stocks and ETFs. In January, NYSE announced the development of a platform for trading and on-chain settlement of such assets. The project must receive regulatory approval and includes the Pillar order-matching mechanism together with blockchain infrastructure.

There is another important detail. The system must support multiple blockchains for settlement and asset custody. In other words, NYSE is not looking for one nice name for a press release. It is building the foundation for working with real securities, where mistakes are costly. That is exactly why a year of testing looks logical, not accidental.

What exactly did NYSE and ICE say?

Cooper did not name the exchange’s final choice. He only confirmed that the parties continue to maintain close working interaction. Michael Blaugrund from Intercontinental Exchange, NYSE’s parent company, said the team is actively working with Avalanche while evaluating blockchain platforms.

“Avalanche meets many of our requirements, so we are working very actively with the team,” Blaugrund said.

This does not mean a decision has already been made. But the signal is clear. A large exchange does not test a network for a year without reason. It is checking whether the infrastructure can handle load, access rules, settlement, and future trading without interruptions.

Market reaction

The tokenized assets market is already pushing major exchanges toward experiments. According to DTCC, on July 15, 2026 the company conducted production trades with tokenized assets involving more than 30 companies, including NYSE, Nasdaq, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Citadel Securities, Circle, and CME Group. This shows the topic has moved beyond theory.

It is also worth noting the regulatory backdrop. On September 17, 2026, the SEC launched the Innovation Exemption for 5 years. The regime allows Tokenized Securities Venues to trade tokenized NMS stocks through permissioned AMMs and liquidity pools. For on-chain trading, this lowers the entry barrier. And that is why major players are moving faster now.

Against this backdrop, Avalanche looks like a non-random candidate. In the research cited in the materials, it was mentioned that as of September 15, 2026, the tokenized RWA market had reached $38.89 billion, while Avalanche C-Chain had 800 tracked assets and $1.7 billion in distributed value. That does not make the network a winner automatically. But it explains why it is even being considered for such tasks.

• NYSE tested Avalanche for about 12 months.

• There is still no final choice of blockchain.

• NYSE’s project concerns tokenized stocks and ETFs.

• The platform must receive regulatory approval.

• On September 17, 2026, the SEC launched the Innovation Exemption for 5 years.

• DTCC conducted production trades involving more than 30 companies.

What does this mean for investors?

For AVAX holders, this is not a guarantee of growth. But it is a strong signal that Avalanche is entering the short list of networks being considered for traditional finance infrastructure. In stories like this, the market often reacts not to a signed contract, but to the very fact of being close to one.

For investors in tokenized assets, the conclusion is different. If NYSE really launches on-chain trading, it could accelerate the shift from experiments to a working model for U.S. stocks. Here, speed of settlement is not the only thing that matters. What matters is who exactly stands behind the platform, how it passes compliance, and whether it can handle 24/7 load.

Cooper said directly that some trading venues could move to round-the-clock weekday trading within a year. And that is probably the main shift in this story. Not one blockchain versus another. But an attempt to move the stock market’s operating model into a format where trading hours no longer limit liquidity.

Frequently asked questions

Has NYSE chosen Avalanche definitively?

No. The company only tested the technology for a year and worked on integration. The final choice of blockchain for the tokenized securities platform has not yet been announced.

What exactly does NYSE want to launch?

It is a platform for trading and on-chain settlement of tokenized shares of U.S. companies and ETFs. The project requires regulatory approval and is meant to work together with the Pillar mechanism.

Why is this important for the market?

Because NYSE and ICE are checking whether part of the stock market infrastructure can be moved on-chain. If it works, tokenized securities will gain a stronger institutional foundation, not just interest from the crypto market.

In other words, this is not the end yet. But a year of testing, ICE’s involvement, and the SEC’s new rules show that the market is moving in one direction. Those who want to quickly sell Bitcoin on Monobank can do so without extra steps and in a convenient way.

This material is not financial advice. Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks. Part of this text was prepared with the help of artificial intelligence based on public sources and reviewed by our editorial team.