Why Wall Street Is Moving Toward 24/7 Trading
Wall Street’s growing interest in round-the-clock trading is being driven by changing investor behavior in crypto markets. According to a report published by Binance, weekend trading volume for TradFi perpetual futures across crypto exchanges has surged sixfold in recent months to $28 billion. Binance alone accounts for nearly half of that total.
The increase is more than a temporary rise in weekend activity. It indicates that traders are already using crypto markets to gain 24/7 exposure to traditional assets. Traditional finance, or TradFi, is now seeking to bring more trading activity into its own markets in response to the always-on access offered by crypto platforms.
Tal Cohen, President of Nasdaq, recently described the shift in investor expectations:
The new wave of retail investors is already used to 24/7 crypto markets and as a result, equities are gravitating towards almost 24-hour trading and a willingness to allow pre-market and after hours trading. In other words, crypto has already normalized 24/7 trading and TradFi is now adapting to that demand.
Source: X
24/7 Trading Creates a Major Market Infrastructure Test
Extending exchange hours is only one part of the challenge. Wall Street also needs the infrastructure required to support continuous trading across clearing, settlement, brokerage, risk management, payments, and market supervision.
Nasdaq has highlighted the pressure that longer trading sessions could place on clearing houses, brokers, and settlement systems. These organizations would need to operate for longer periods, leaving less time for maintenance, risk checks, and batch processing.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has also identified issues involving clearing, collateral, payments, settlement, default management, cybersecurity, and liquidity as markets move toward continuous trading. SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins noted that longer trading hours could improve liquidity, but could also fragment liquidity and affect price discovery and execution quality.
Source: SEC
For Wall Street, the issue is therefore not simply whether exchanges can remain open for longer. The central question is whether traditional financial infrastructure can support continuous trading while preserving strong liquidity, efficient settlement, and effective oversight.
Crypto Infrastructure Gives Blockchain Markets an Advantage
According to AMBCrypto, crypto markets offer an important point of comparison because blockchain networks already operate continuously. Trading, settlement, and ownership can be integrated into the underlying technology rather than handled through separate systems operating on limited schedules.
This raises a broader question as Wall Street adopts always-on features: Could crypto’s real advantage lie not only in market availability, but also in the infrastructure that supports it?
Tokenization appears to be approaching an important turning point after years of experimentation. McKinsey estimates that the total tokenized market could reach $2 trillion by 2030, with a bullish projection of nearly $4 trillion. The data suggests that tokenized equities could become one of the largest categories within the tokenized-asset market.
Blockworks data shows that the total supply of tokenized equities across all blockchains reached a record $3 billion, up from approximately $640 million at the beginning of the year. That represents a 369% increase and highlights the growing appeal of tokenized equities as a way to gain exposure to the stock market outside regular trading hours.
Solana’s Tokenized Equities Show Demand Outside U.S. Market Hours
Data from Solana [SOL] illustrates how this activity is developing. According to a recent report from Allium Labs, tokenized equities account for $8.2 billion of Solana’s $14.7 billion in total real-world asset trading volume, making them the blockchain’s largest RWA category.
More significantly, 63% of that trading volume occurs while U.S. markets are closed. The activity indicates that investors are increasingly using blockchain rails to trade outside Wall Street’s traditional operating hours, adding support to the broader debate over 24/7 markets.
Source: X
The growth of tokenized stocks is therefore not only a question of trading availability. It also points to the potential importance of the blockchain infrastructure beneath those assets. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink described the broader market opportunity as follows:
Tokenization could be the “next generation for markets.” The idea is simple: Move more of the market’s infrastructure on-chain, rather than just extending the hours of the existing system.
Always-On Trading Could Intensify TradFi-DeFi Competition
Wall Street’s move toward 24/7 trading could reduce one of the advantages traditionally associated with crypto markets: continuous access. However, crypto’s competitive position has never depended solely on allowing markets to remain open around the clock.
Investors are already using blockchain rails beyond traditional market hours. Faster settlement, higher throughput, and tokenization add to the appeal of blockchain-based markets. The expansion of Solana’s tokenized-equity market provides a prominent example of how financial assets are increasingly being placed on-chain.
The shift is likely to increase competition between TradFi and crypto. As Wall Street adopts features associated with crypto markets, blockchain networks will face pressure to continue improving speed, scalability, and efficiency.
Anatoly “Toly” Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, summarized the potential advantage of blockchain networks during his opening keynote:
We have an advantage because we can move faster, we’re global. A lot of these companies that have built their businesses around regulatory captured markets are stuck in the way that they do things. So we have an opportunity to disrupt them.
The key question is no longer simply which market can offer 24/7 trading. It is which financial system can build the infrastructure needed to make an always-on market faster, cheaper, and more efficient.
Why This Matters
Wall Street’s push toward continuous trading could narrow the access gap between traditional finance and crypto, but it may also shift competition toward settlement technology, tokenization, liquidity, and operational efficiency. Traditional markets must extend the operating hours of institutions that were built around scheduled trading, while blockchain networks already function continuously by design.
As TradFi adopts more crypto-like features, the future contest between TradFi and DeFi may depend less on who can keep markets open and more on who can provide the most effective underlying infrastructure. The continued growth of tokenized equities, particularly outside U.S. market hours, suggests that DeFi and blockchain-based systems could play a larger role in the development of always-on financial markets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Wall Street moving toward 24/7 trading?
Investor behavior is changing as retail traders become accustomed to continuous access through crypto markets. Weekend trading volume for TradFi perpetual futures across crypto exchanges has risen sixfold to $28 billion, according to Binance.
What are the main challenges of continuous trading?
The main challenges include operating clearing houses, brokers, settlement systems, payment networks, and risk controls for longer periods. The SEC has also raised concerns about liquidity, cybersecurity, collateral, default management, price discovery, and execution quality.
Could crypto retain an advantage if TradFi trades 24/7?
Yes. Crypto’s potential advantage extends beyond market access to blockchain-based settlement, tokenization, speed, and throughput. Tokenized-equity activity on Solana, much of it occurring while U.S. markets are closed, demonstrates continued demand for blockchain-based financial infrastructure.