Nasdaq CEO Advocates Asset Tokenization to Unlock Collateral Capital

Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman stated at the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore that tokenizing financial assets, such as equities, Treasurys, and money market funds, could release tens of billions of dollars in trapped collateral capital. She noted that institutional interest in these technologies has grown following the passage of the U.S. Genius Act, which established a regulatory framework for stablecoins.

Friedman argued that while updating exchange infrastructure is the simplest part of moving toward 24/7 trading, the industry must transition risk and collateral management to real-time processes. She identified artificial intelligence as a critical component for supporting this shift. To facilitate this transition, Nasdaq has launched digital agents within its risk management platform.

Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi added that international companies are increasingly utilizing tokenization to improve their access to American capital markets.