Catenaa, Thursday, September 24, 2026- The New York Stock Exchange has spent about a year testing Avalanche technology as part of its work on tokenized securities infrastructure, according to Ava Labs President Charley Cooper.
Cooper said NYSE and parent company Intercontinental Exchange, or ICE, have worked closely with Ava Labs to examine how Avalanche could fit into the exchange operator’s systems.
He made the comments during the Avalanche Summit in New York.
Cooper said NYSE examined more than technical performance. The exchange also questioned Ava Labs about the economics of the network and whether the company understood the commercial requirements of a major securities market.
However, he stopped short of saying Avalanche had been selected.
ICE Head of Strategic Initiatives Michael Blaugrund also appeared at the summit and said the company was closely engaged with the Avalanche team as it evaluated blockchain infrastructure.
He said Avalanche met many of the requirements ICE was examining.
NYSE has not announced which blockchain or blockchains will underpin its planned tokenized securities platform.
The exchange announced in January that it was developing a regulated platform for trading and onchain settlement of tokenized US stocks and exchange-traded funds.
The proposed system combines NYSE’s existing Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based post-trade infrastructure.
NYSE has said the platform is being designed for 24-hour trading, instant settlement, stablecoin funding and orders denominated in dollar amounts rather than only shares.
Its architecture is intended to support multiple blockchains for settlement and custody rather than depend on a single network.
ICE expanded that work in August by reaching an agreement with blockchain infrastructure company tZERO.
Under the agreement, tZERO became a design partner for digital transfer-agent and broker-dealer infrastructure connected with the planned NYSE platform. ICE also invested in tZERO and licensed parts of its blockchain patent portfolio.
Avalanche has increasingly positioned itself as infrastructure for institutional blockchain applications through customizable networks and systems designed for regulated financial assets.
The NYSE testing disclosure comes as US regulators open more room for tokenized securities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission last week introduced a five-year Innovation Exemption allowing qualifying venues to trade tokenized US-listed stocks through blockchain-based automated market makers.
The regulatory change could accelerate competition among blockchains seeking to become infrastructure for traditional financial markets.
For Avalanche, involvement in NYSE testing would place it among networks being evaluated for one of the largest institutional tokenization projects under development.
But the decision remains open.
NYSE’s multi-chain design means testing Avalanche does not establish that the network will ultimately be chosen for settlement or custody.
