Nasdaq's CEO says tokenization could release tens of billions of dollars in trapped capital, but warned that moving to a fully 24/7 market would be a major undertaking for the financial industry. Speaking to CNBC, she noted that "the easiest part is the exchange infrastructure," pointing to the deeper operational challenges ahead.
Traditional markets have built-in downtime for updating systems and managing risk, but around-the-clock trading would require those processes to happen continuously. "Everything has to be real time all the time," she said, including risk and collateral management. That shift, she argued, makes artificial intelligence essential to handling the constant flow of activity.
Nasdaq has already introduced a series of digital agents within its risk management platform. These agents initially provide recommendations, but the CEO said banks could eventually use them to take more direct action. "AI is critical for 24/7," she added, framing the technology as a necessary tool for the industry's next phase.