The New York Stock Exchange plans to use Avalanche as the core settlement ledger for its forthcoming tokenised securities platform, giving the blockchain a central role in Wall Street’s push to move equities onchain. CoinDesk reported on 9 November 2026 that the selection was announced on Monday, in a press release from Ava Labs, the company behind Avalanche.

Avalanche will provide the ledger technology to the clearing firm supporting the upcoming NYSE-affiliated alternative trading system, known as an ATS. The venue plans to support trading and settlement around the clock, pending regulatory approval, and to support tokenised stocks issued on a range of blockchain networks, all settling through the NYSE’s Avalanche-based ledger.

A custom chain, not the public network

The NYSE will operate its own custom blockchain built on Avalanche technology and tailored to the platform’s regulatory needs, rather than settling trades on Avalanche’s public blockchain. John Nahas, chief business officer at Ava Labs, told CoinDesk that the selection had been “over a year in the making”, after extensive technical, business and ecosystem reviews.

Dennis Lee, head of digital issuance at the NYSE, said the exchange needed a settlement ledger that could process transactions fast, keep costs predictable and control who could take part. “Avalanche meets all those needs,” he said in a statement reported by CoinDesk.

The planned platform will pair the NYSE’s Pillar trading engine with blockchain-based clearing, settlement and custody. It aims to enable 24/7 trading, instant settlement and stablecoin-based funding, although each of those features remains subject to the approvals the project still needs.

AVAX climbs as traders react

AVAX, the native token of the Avalanche network, rallied on the news and was up 8% in the past 24 hours when CoinDesk reported on 9 November. CryptoNews reported on Tuesday that AVAX had reached $8.60, gaining 5.2% over 24 hours, after climbing as high as $8.99, with 24-hour trading volume of $537 million, up nearly 448% from the previous day.

The move stood out in a weak crypto market, with the announcement following a rally of as much as 10% on Monday, when AVAX outperformed most major coins, according to CryptoNews.

Wall Street’s tokenisation race

The Avalanche deal is the latest step in a wider race among US market infrastructure firms. Nasdaq is also developing tokenised stock infrastructure, including a partnership with the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken to distribute blockchain-based shares globally, CoinDesk reported.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, which sits at the centre of US securities custody and settlement, launched a tokenisation service last month using its private Besu blockchain and the Canton Network. Unlike the exchange projects, that service focuses on custody and transfers rather than operating a trading venue.

Last week, the NYSE expanded its network of transfer agents to six firms, adding Broadridge Financial Solutions, Computershare, Equiniti and Superstate to existing partners Securitize and tZERO, CoinDesk reported.

For now, the Avalanche platform remains a plan awaiting regulatory clearance, with no launch date given in the announcement as reported. Its significance is structural: a public blockchain’s technology would sit beneath the clearing and settlement layer of one of the world’s largest stock exchanges, rather than simply wrapping a single product in a token.