A while ago, Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, announced a major development — building a tokenized securities platform that supports 24-hour trading. At first glance, it might seem like just a shift in trading hours. But upon closer inspection, what this really reflects is profound: traditional finance is systematically learning and transforming to match the core competitive advantages of the crypto market — around-the-clock trading and instant settlement.

For over a decade, 24/7 trading has been the "patent" of crypto assets. Now, with the NYSE taking the initiative to change this approach, it indicates they no longer want to sit idly by but are prepared to compete head-to-head with the crypto market in the dimension of time. The significance of this change may be even more impactful than the approval of any new ETF.

Why is 24-hour trading more than just a simple extension of working hours? In traditional market logic, trading hours are never a trivial matter. Fixed trading sessions help concentrate liquidity, unify quotes, and control risk; conversely, operating 24/7 means liquidity is dispersed, prices fluctuate continuously, and risk management becomes more frequent and complex. These institutional costs are why U.S. stock markets have long adopted a compromise of "regular trading hours plus pre-market and after-hours trading."

This time, it’s different. Intercontinental Exchange isn’t just proposing overtime; they aim to create a new trading system that natively supports 24/7 operation by combining tokenized securities with on-chain settlement architecture. From technical frameworks to institutional design, everything is being built from scratch.