Reported by Coindesk, the New York Stock Exchange would consider offering cryptocurrency trading if the regulatory status of such an expansion by the stock market giant was clearer, the company's president said.
"If there was clear regulatory guidance [in the U.S.], it would be an opportunity to look at," Lynn Martin said Wednesday during a panel discussion at Consensus 2024 in Austin, Texas.
U.S-listed spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETF) amassing $58 billion of assets is "a strong sign" that there's demand for regulated crypto products, she added.
While traditional financial markets and digital assets are increasingly getting more intertwined with more traditional financial heavyweights offering crypto products, the lack of regulatory clarity is still weighing on the industry slowing innovation, Martin and Tom Farley, CEO of crypto exchange Bullish, discussed during the panel discussion. (Bullish is the parent company of CoinDesk. Farley previously had Martin's job at NYSE.)
"The fact that you've seen $58 billion or so come to the ETFs has been a strong sign that the market is looking for regulation in traditional structures," Martin said. "So, hopefully, the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission] saw the inflows and said, 'Hey, this makes a lot of sense,' considering bitcoin ETFs have been a tremendous success."
NYSE's U.S.-based rival, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), a giant in regulated crypto futures trading, is planning to launch spot crypto trading to clients, the Financial Times reported earlier this month.
Farley highlighted the sudden change of heart towards crypto in U.S. politics, including the ousting of the anti-crypto chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), the passage of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) bill in the House, and Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump doubling down supporting crypto in a rapid chain of events.