Nasdaq planning to repurpose technology from curtailed crypto foray

By Jenny Surane and Francine Lacqua

Nasdaq Inc. is planning to repurpose the technology it developed for a curtailed foray into cryptocurrency.

The stock exchange operator, which in July aborted its launch of a custodian business for digital assets in the US, has been building out its technology services related to tokenized assets.

“We’re still going to launch it but we’re going to launch it as a technology service,” Tal Cohen, co-president of Nasdaq, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “We’re going to have an institutional-grade end-to-end technology platform that we hope powers not only digital assets but markets like carbon.”

Nasdaq and other mainstream financial firms pulled back on their ambitions in digital assets as regulators seek to isolate the US financial system from cryptocurrencies. The exchange company said earlier this year that it would continue building out its technology to handle crypto for clients even as it halted efforts to pursue a license related to the business. 

US exchange operators have benefited from UK firms choosing to debut on public markets in New York instead of London. British tech firm Arm Holdings Plc, for example, picked Nasdaq rather than its home market to carry out one of the biggest share sales of 2023. 

Cohen said his company is open to working with European lawmakers to make the region a more attractive destination for such listings.  

“In Europe, I think you’re facing structural issues around tax regimes, onerous regulations, a lot of fragmentation, complexity,” Cohen said. “We have a big franchise in Europe, we’re willing to take that call and talk to them about how we can help in Europe.”