NYSE to Allow 24/7 Stock Trading Like Crypto Trading?

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has sought opinion from market participants about operating the market 24 hours a day, similar to how the cryptocurrency trading works as per a recent Financial Times report.

Note that the NYSE still has a thing for old traditions — the daily trading on the exchange begins and ends with a bell-ringing ceremony.

Therefore, it is quite an uphill task for the NYSE to begin 24/7 trading.

24/7 trading has become a viable option due to the general surge in stock trading during the Coronavirus pandemic and an interest in crypto trading during the period.

In addition, investors based in Asia and Europe have also become increasingly interested in the U.S. stock market.

The NYSE’s drive underscores the need to capitalise on the current trend of extended trading hours on several online platforms.  

Nonetheless, these platforms have certain restrictions as of now.  

The NYSE’s data analytics team circulated a survey among the participants, asking questions about allowing overnight trading seven days a week, investor protection in the face of volatile price fluctuations, staffing of overnight sessions.

Generally, you can trade equities on the NYSE between 9:30 am and 4 pm ET. You can trade other assets such as futures, US Treasury bonds, and cryptocurrencies any time of the week.

The NYSE would face several challenges as it transitions to a 24/7 trading model such as maintaining liquidity and mitigating settlement risks during the additional trading hours.

It is generally believed that a weekend gap gives a breathing space to the trading community so that nobody is caught in an everlasting race.

Several market experts also believe that it is important to maintain the distinction between the norms of traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralised finance (DeFi).

While crypto trading is not run over centralised networks, the NYSE epitomises centralised finance.

But it looks like the time has come for the world’s largest exchange to finally catch up with the developments in the global financial markets - in particular, the crypto markets.

In short, crypto never stops trading.

Now, the NYSE wants to follow the suit.