NYSE Chooses Avalanche for Tokenized Securities Platform—but Can AVAX Turn It Into Real Value?

In brief

• The NYSE plans to use Avalanche as the core ledger for clearing and settlement on its upcoming tokenized securities platform, pending regulatory approval.
• Analysts described the deal as a significant credibility boost for Avalanche, noting it followed roughly a year of testing.
• The platform, however, will run on dedicated infrastructure rather than the public C-Chain, and experts caution that this may not translate into value for AVAX.

The New York Stock Exchange has selected Avalanche to power a tokenized securities platform currently in development. Analysts view the move as a notable win for Avalanche’s standing, though many warn it may not lift the value of the network’s AVAX token.

On Monday, Ava Labs announced that Avalanche would act as the “core ledger technology” behind a tokenized securities platform built by NYSE parent company Intercontinental Exchange. The offering is intended to support 24/7 trading, clearing, and settlement of tokenized securities, subject to regulatory approval.

Carlos Guzman, a research analyst at market maker GSR, told Decrypt the partnership is “definitely a big win for the project.”

“Having the NYSE select its technology for settlement is a major institutional credibility boost, and it validates the advantages blockchain can bring to traditional financial infrastructure through instant settlement and programmability,” he said.

Luther Maday, head of North America at crypto payments firm Mercuryo, told Decrypt that the decision followed a year of testing on Avalanche, indicating the network cleared checks on “performance, reliability, and control.”

“The NYSE has chosen the technology for the clearing and settlement layer, which represents a far deeper use of blockchain than simply issuing a tokenized asset on a network,” Maday added.

Avalanche’s AVAX token climbed 3.6% over the past day to $8.64, according to Decrypt data. Even so, analysts caution that supplying infrastructure does not automatically guarantee sustained growth in token value.

“The NYSE will use Avalanche’s infrastructure for clearing and settlement, so the actual trading will still take place off-chain,” Guzman explained.

In practice, this means NYSE activity will run on dedicated Avalanche infrastructure rather than the public C-Chain, where the bulk of the network’s activity currently takes place.

“I would be cautious about reading this news as a direct signal for activity on the public C-Chain,” Maday said.

That said, Maday advised watching how the AVAX token is used within the dedicated infrastructure. He also suggested that stablecoin liquidity, validator activity, and network fees could benefit.

The NYSE has also partnered with Blockchain.com to offer tokenized stocks and ETFs to crypto investors, while parent company ICE is collaborating with OKX on a 24/7 tokenized stock venue under an SEC exemption. Morgan Stanley, for its part, has begun tokenizing its own securities.

Not every company is on board, however. All seven of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” stocks—including Apple and Meta—declined to have their shares tokenized on the OKX-ICE venue, as did dozens of other companies.

Even if tokenization gains widespread traction, that still does not guarantee returns for AVAX holders.

“The central question for Avalanche is whether it can achieve what other blockchains have struggled to accomplish: capturing value,” said Misha Putiatin, founder of collateral markets platform Symbiotic, in an interview with Decrypt. “Avalanche has always fielded an unusually outcome-driven team for this industry, so I suspect they have plans in place, but only time will tell.”

Ava Labs did not immediately respond to Decrypt‘s request for comment.

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