Crypto SEC News: 24/7 Trading on Wall Street with or without Blockchain?

The SEC brings together 17 major names from Wall Street to discuss round-the-clock trading. Citi, BlackRock, Nasdaq, NYSE, Robinhood, Citadel Securities, UBS, and Schwab are all present. The meeting takes place on September 17. The big question for our readers is: what does this mean for the crypto market? Read all about it in today's article, September 2, 2026.

SEC Brings 17 Parties from Wall Street to the Table

It is rare for exchanges, market makers, brokers, and asset managers to gather simultaneously to discuss the same topic. The chairperson of the regulator speaks of a new day and night for the American stock markets.

The full agenda with all names is included in the SEC's press release. This directly impacts the crypto market, as continuous trading requires settlement that continues over the weekend.

The plans currently on the table for Wall Street include:

• Nasdaq: 23 hours of trading per day, starting December 6, 2026.
• NYSE: sessions of 22 hours, still in the form of a proposal.
• 24X: already approved for 23 hours on weekdays.
• Participants: 17 parties, from Citi and UBS to Citadel Securities and Robinhood.
• Date: September 17, with three panels on technology, oversight, and settlement.

Nasdaq Aims for 23-Hour Trading Starting December 6

The SEC approved Nasdaq's proposal in April. The start now depends on the systems of the central clearinghouse and the price feeds that supply all exchanges. Trading will then continue five days a week, with one hour of pause each day. That remaining hour is not a detail. Exchanges use that pause to settle positions and close their books. In a market without a pause, the administration must run concurrently with trading.

The session from half-past nine to four remains the benchmark for pricing. Orders placed between nine PM and midnight will also receive the trade date of the next calendar day, ensuring that the settlement maintains its rhythm.

The risk models of market makers will also undergo changes. Prices that continue overnight mean that someone must remain on both sides of the market, even on Sundays. For Dutch investors, something practical changes. American stocks will then be accessible during our office hours, without waiting until half-past three in the afternoon.

Settlement on Weekends Requires Blockchain

The current infrastructure operates on batches. Transactions pile up and go through the system in one round overnight.

Blockchain-based systems do not face that problem, as each transaction settles itself immediately. Several parties at the table are already working on this, from tokenized money market funds to settlement in stablecoins. Nasdaq itself is collaborating with Kraken on a gateway for tokenized stocks, planned for the first half of 2027.

Oversight is the second bottleneck. Trade control and reporting obligations rely on daily reports, and that rhythm must transition to a continuous model. The closing price also loses its function. Funds currently value their holdings at one fixed moment per day, and that anchor point disappears once trading never stops.

The outcome of September 17 will primarily determine the pace. If the sector opts for existing systems with longer opening hours, the transition will take years. If the new infrastructure is preferred, the technology of crypto will move into the heart of the stock market.

24-Hour Trading Affects the Advantage of the BTC Price

Crypto had one clear advantage for years: the market never closed. That argument disappears once stocks do the same. The downside weighs heavier. A stock market that operates day and night normalizes continuous trading and pulls the technology behind it inward. Bitcoin news and stock news will then flow through the same infrastructure, lowering the threshold for investors.

In the short term, this changes little for the BTC price. However, we do take into account a stronger correlation between crypto and stocks in our Bitcoin price expectations. Equal opening hours will reduce sharp weekend movements.