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Crypto’s 24/7 model is resetting investor expectations. Here’s what banks and exchanges must do to keep up.
When Markets Never Sleep
Crypto’s most visible disruption is time. Its markets never close. Whether it’s midnight in New York or dawn in Singapore, traders expect instant execution.
Wall Street has been forced to follow. The NYSE has announced plans to expand trading to 22 hours per day, while Nasdaq targets full 24-hour trading by 2026. Extended-hours trading already accounts for over 11% of U.S. equity volume, with peak days seeing 2 billion shares move outside the traditional bell.
But there’s a catch. Academic research highlights that off-hours activity comes with thinner liquidity, wider spreads, and higher volatility. Crypto made continuous markets a norm, but importing that model into equities reveals frictions of legacy infrastructure—and investor protection rules—that crypto doesn’t face.
Faster, Cheaper, and Mobile-First
Beyond hours, crypto’s infrastructure redefined settlement and access. Transactions reach finality in minutes or seconds, compared to the T+1 equity settlement cycle introduced in 2024. Capital efficiency and strategy design change fundamentally when funds can be redeployed instantly.
Equally important is user experience. Crypto apps are designed mobile-first, with average KYC verification at 3.5 minutes, and nearly a quarter offering instant approval. Traditional brokers, by contrast, still require hours or days to open an account. For digital-native investors, first impressions matter.
The impact is generational: CFA Institute data shows 55% of U.S. Gen Z investors own crypto, compared to 41% who hold individual stocks. The gateway asset for many is crypto, not equities—a reversal of history.
From Fractional Shares to Tokenized Assets
Fractional trading, tokenized ownership, and yield-generating participation models all started in crypto. Wall Street has since adopted fractional shares and is piloting tokenized funds and bonds, but crypto set the expectation of “fractional everything” from inception.
The tokenization frontier is particularly striking. Deloitte forecasts real-estate tokenization to grow at 27% annually through 2035, potentially unlocking trillions in investable assets. Platforms already allow $10 minimum stakes in property markets once reserved for institutions.
Crypto platforms also offer yield farming, staking, and liquidity provision—turning passive investors into active participants. Traditional exchanges have launched ETFs and lending facilities to mimic this, but they remain adaptations of legacy frameworks rather than native features.
The Convergence—and the Stakes
The economics show why this matters. Coalition Greenwich reports global exchange revenues at $58.9 billion in 2024 (+7.5% YoY). Meanwhile, crypto exchanges collectively generate tens of billions, with Coinbase at $6.6B and Binance at $16.8B. Projections suggest the sector could surpass $85B in 2025.
Legacy exchanges are modernizing: Nasdaq has migrated to the cloud and deployed AI surveillance, and both NYSE and Nasdaq list crypto-linked products. But crypto platforms innovate faster, adding cross-chain compatibility, automated market making, and composable financial primitives at a pace retrofits struggle to match.
Risks remain on both sides. Off-hours equities face liquidity issues; crypto markets wrestle with custody, solvency, and uneven regulation. Yet compliance convergence is under way: by 2025, 92% of crypto exchanges report full KYC coverage, eroding a key distinction.
The result is convergence. Wall Street is adopting crypto’s speed and UX; crypto is adopting Wall Street’s compliance and scale. The real question is not whether finance becomes continuous, programmable, and mobile—it will—but which platforms capture the billions that shift as the rules of market structure are rewritten.
About the Author
Vugar Usi Zade
Web3 Advisor & Blockchain Expert
Recognized as a Web3 advisor and blockchain expert, guiding companies, investors, and policymakers on how to leverage digital assets, decentralized ecosystems, and emerging technologies for long-term growth. Over the past 15 years, he has combined world-class education with hands-on leadership to help organizations—from Fortune 500 companies to emerging tech ventures—scale, innovate, and embrace digital transformation. Vugar Usi Zade is a global business strategist and blockchain advisor with a strong academic foundation from Harvard University and the University of Oxford. His expertise bridges academic rigor and practical execution, offering a perspective that is both visionary and grounded in real-world impact.
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