Nasdaq Partners with Boerse Stuttgart’s Seturion for tokenized Settlement

Nasdaq said it is working with Boerse Stuttgart Group’s tokenized settlement platform Seturion to connect its European trading venues to infrastructure designed to settle tokenized securities using distributed ledger technology.

According to Monday’s announcement, the collaboration will initially focus on structured products and aims to support faster settlement of tokenized assets across European capital markets.

Seturion supports multiple asset classes across public and private distributed ledger networks and allows transactions to be settled using either central bank money or on-chain cash. Boerse Stuttgart said the platform is intended to be open to a broader network of financial institutions across Europe.

Under the partnership, Nasdaq will link its European trading venues to Seturion so that tokenized securities traded on those markets can be settled through the platform. The companies said they plan to expand participation to additional issuers, brokers and financial institutions over time.

The partnership aims to address fragmentation in Europe’s post-trade infrastructure, where securities settlement is handled by multiple national systems with differing rules and processes. By using distributed ledger technology, the companies say a shared platform could help reduce settlement times and operational complexity across European markets.

The European Central Bank in April said there was “an urgent need to integrate Europe’s fragmented capital markets, not only in the area of post-trade but also in supervision and other areas.”

The system is designed to operate within existing European regulatory frameworks, including MiFID II and the DLT Pilot Regime, which allow financial institutions to test distributed ledger technology in trading and settlement of tokenized securities.

In February, Boerse Stuttgart Group said it would merge its cryptocurrency business with Frankfurt-based digital asset trading company Tradias as part of a strategy to expand its presence in institutional crypto markets.

Related: Kraken wins Kansas City Fed approval for limited master account access

Traditional exchanges push deeper into tokenized securities

Exchange operators are increasingly exploring tokenized versions of traditional securities as part of efforts to modernize capital market infrastructure.

Nasdaq said today that it was partnering with Kraken, a US-headquartered crypto exchange, and tokenization infrastructure provider Backed to develop a gateway aimed at supporting tokenized equities while preserving issuer control.

In September, Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation said it plans to bring a subset of US Treasury securities onto the Canton Network, with the long-term goal of expanding tokenization to a broader range of assets eligible for custody at its subsidiary, the Depository Trust Company. The market infrastructure operator processed around $3.7 quadrillion in 2024.

In January, the New York Stock Exchange and its parent company Intercontinental Exchange said they were developing a platform for trading tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds that would support 24/7 trading and blockchain-based settlement.

Last week, Intercontinental Exchange announced it had taken a board seat in OKX after investing in the crypto exchange and plans to offer NYSE-listed tokenized stocks and derivatives to OKX users starting in 2026.

Tokenized public equities have grown to about $1.01 billion in total onchain value, according to data from RWA.xyz.

Magazine: What’s a ‘Network State’ and are there real-life examples? Big Question