Blue Ocean Technologies CEO Brian Hyndman said developments in tokenized securities infrastructure could eventually allow U.S. equities to trade over the weekend, as the firm works with clearing partner RQD*Clearing LLC to explore clearing and settlement capabilities for tokenized National Market System (NMS) stocks.
“Blue Ocean Technologies will work closely with RQD and the DTCC to support the tokenization of equities beginning in 2026,” Hyndman said following the companies’ announcement of a strategic partnership.
“Our vision is to build on this foundation and enable the trading of tokenized securities over the weekend in the near future,” he told Traders Magazine.
On March 4, Blue Ocean Technologies and RQD* announced the partnership, which focuses on developing clearing and settlement infrastructure for tokenized NMS equities.
Blue Ocean ATS, the broker-dealer subsidiary of Blue Ocean Technologies, and RQD* signed a memorandum of understanding outlining an initiative intended to align with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s (DTCC) emerging roadmap for tokenized securities.
Hyndman said the development is tied to broader changes expected in market infrastructure. “The DTCC is expected to move to a 24/5 clearing model in Q2 2026,” he said.
“As their tokenization initiatives expand, we believe this will create an opportunity to trade tokenized assets over the weekend that have already been cleared and settled during the traditional trading week,” he said.
He added that trading in National Market System stocks would remain unchanged in the near term as tokenization infrastructure comes online. “Trading of NMS stocks will remain unchanged. In the near term, once DTCC’s infrastructure is live, we expect trading to continue as it does today,” Hyndman said.
Market participants who want shares tokenized would indicate that preference during order entry, according to Hyndman. “If a subscriber wishes to have shares tokenized, they will need to indicate that at the time of order entry,” he said.
Any weekend trading of tokenized equities would operate under existing market rules. “When tokenized equities are traded over the weekend, they will follow the same price-time priority model and market rules that currently apply to overnight trading,” Hyndman said.
On regulatory oversight, Hyndman said the firm’s alternative trading system would continue operating under the same framework used today. “Whether trading traditional NMS securities or tokenized NMS securities, we will continue to operate in full compliance with the FINRA and SEC rules that govern our Alternative Trading System,” he said.
Hyndman also said blockchain-based settlement could eventually generate additional insights when combined with trading platform data. “Over time, on-chain settlement of tokenized securities will present opportunities to create new analytics and insights from blockchain activity combined with off-chain matching platform data,” he said.
He added that Blue Ocean plans to apply its existing surveillance and compliance practices to tokenized trading activity and is working with RQD* and DTCC to explore stablecoin-based solutions that could facilitate the movement of funds when traditional banking systems are closed, including over weekends.
