In a significant shift that signals the blurring lines between cryptocurrency and traditional finance, major crypto exchanges are making bold moves to digitalize real-world assets and extend their reach beyond digital currencies. With Kraken's recent $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader and Nasdaq's push for 24-hour trading, we're witnessing the early stages of a financial system transformation that could make 24/7 trading of all assets a reality.
Kraken's Strategic Move Beyond Crypto
Kraken's acquisition of NinjaTrader, announced as the largest-ever deal combining traditional finance and cryptocurrency, represents a strategic expansion beyond pure crypto trading. By acquiring the leading U.S. retail futures trading platform, Kraken is positioning itself to digitalize real-world assets and bring them into the always-on infrastructure pioneered by cryptocurrency markets.
"Traditional markets run on banking systems from the 1950s and post-WWII, exchanges that close at 4 p.m. ET, and settlement delays that take days to resolve. Crypto rails fixed these issues, operating with efficient and real-time infrastructure," explains Arjun Sethi, Kraken's co-CEO. "This transaction is the first step in our vision of an institutional-grade trading platform where any asset can be traded, anytime."
The acquisition gives Kraken access to NinjaTrader's CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant license, allowing it to offer crypto futures and derivatives in the U.S. market. More importantly, it accelerates Kraken's multi-asset-class ambitions, which include plans for equities trading and payments.
Coinbase's Vision: Bringing Stocks Onchain
Kraken isn't alone in this pursuit. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has expressed his ambition to bring Coinbase's own stock onto the Coinbase platform, signaling a similar desire to bridge traditional securities and crypto infrastructure.
Recently, Armstrong highlighted the company's "verified pools" initiative as a crucial building block for bringing traditional assets onchain: "We want to bring more assets onchain. Some of them, you can only trade with certain verifications under US law (maybe you need to be an accredited investor, or to be KYCed). With verified pools, you can get verified and trade these assets onchain. Important building block to open up new asset classes. We're early on our journey to update the financial system."
We want to bring more assets onchain. Some of them, you can only trade with certain verifications under US law (maybe you need to be an accredited investor, or to be KYCed). With verified pools, you can get verified and trade these assets onchain.
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) March 19, 2025
Important building block to… https://t.co/vc7rU3L9nF
These verified pools would allow for compliant trading of regulated securities on blockchain infrastructure, potentially paving the way for traditional stocks and other assets to be traded 24/7 on crypto platforms.
Traditional Exchanges Follow Suit
The push toward 24/7 trading isn't limited to crypto-native companies. Traditional stock exchanges are recognizing the consumer demand for extended trading hours, with Nasdaq recently announcing its most ambitious plan yet to allow stocks to be traded around the clock.
Nasdaq President Tal Cohen confirmed in a blog post that the exchange is seeking regulatory approval to enable 24-hour trading five days a week on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The timeline for implementation is expected to be in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory approval and alignment with critical industry infrastructure providers.
"While trading activities beyond the traditional hours have increased in recent years through off-exchange venues, such as alternative trading systems and broker-dealer platforms, liquidity remains significantly lower during these hours," Cohen acknowledged.
The New York Stock Exchange is also expanding its trading hours, with plans to allow customers to trade 22 hours a day on its electronic Arca exchange, from 1:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Eastern. NYSE received SEC approval in February and expects to begin offering extended trading sometime in 2025.
Crypto's Influence on Traditional Markets
The push to extend trading hours in the stock market has been supercharged by the growing popularity of cryptocurrency markets, which trade 24/7. This always-on crypto infrastructure has demonstrated the technical feasibility of continuous trading and created consumer expectations for similar access to all asset classes.
Brian Hyndman, CEO of Blue Ocean Technologies, an alternative trading system that provides 24-hour trading, told MarketWatch: "I'm not surprised Nasdaq is getting into [24-hour trading]; I'm surprised they're doing it so late."
According to a recent NYSE study, the average daily volume of off-hour trading has grown from around 700 million shares in 2021 to more than 1.7 billion shares as of January 2025, indicating growing demand for extended trading hours.
Challenges Ahead
Despite the momentum, there are significant challenges to overcome. Traditional markets still face technical hurdles related to clearing trades, performing system maintenance, and ensuring adequate liquidity during off-hours. Nasdaq's survey of its listed companies found that roughly half of respondents raised concerns about maintaining adequate liquidity and handling corporate announcements in a 24-hour trading environment.
For crypto exchanges pushing into traditional assets, regulatory compliance remains a major hurdle. Bringing regulated securities onto blockchain-based trading platforms requires navigating complex securities laws and creating compliant infrastructure, which is precisely what initiatives like Coinbase's verified pools aim to address.
The Future of Trading
The convergence of crypto and traditional finance suggests a future where all assets—cryptocurrencies, stocks, futures, and other financial instruments—can be traded 24/7 on digital platforms with blockchain-based settlement. This would represent a fundamental shift from the current fragmented system to a unified global market without time constraints.
While full implementation may still be years away, the recent moves by Kraken, Coinbase, Nasdaq, and NYSE indicate that the financial industry is steadily moving toward this always-on future. As regulatory hurdles are addressed and technical infrastructure improves, investors can expect greater flexibility in when and how they trade all types of assets.
The digitalization of real-world assets onto blockchain infrastructure may ultimately deliver what crypto enthusiasts have long promised: a more efficient, accessible, and continuous global financial system that never sleeps.