The Death of Market Hours: Nasdaq Mimics Crypto with 23-Hour Trading

Nasdaq, the world’s largest stock market, now plans to launch near-round-the-clock trading on December 6, 2026, to keep up with crypto markets and global stock demand.

In a recent announcement, Nasdaq specified that the trading would take place 23 hours a day, 5 days a week, or from Sunday evening to Friday evening every week. 

At present, the exchange operates under the traditional multi-century trading schedule of 4:00 a.m to 8:00 p.m.m ET, with a core trading session occurring between 9.30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Nasdaq chases crypto’s 24/7 playbook

The proposed alternate schedule would run all day, except for an hour’s break between 8.00p.m and 9.00 p.m.m ET for trade-date rollovers and system maintenance.

Notably, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Nasdaq’s proposal about four months ago. The end-of-year launch is now dependent on Nasdaq updating its Securities Information Processor (SIP) system.

Additionally, the exchange will employ several nighttime restrictions, including status price bands to reject overly volatile trades. Standard market orders also face nighttime restrictions to mitigate low liquidity.

TradFi transitions to continuous operation

Nasdaq has now become one of many legacy exchanges and platforms that are continuously taking up round-the-clock trading to keep up with crypto and tokenized assets trading full-time on blockchain.

While Nasdaq plans its transition, private brokerages like Robinhood Markets and Interactive Brokers have provided 24/5 trading for select equities through alternative trading systems (ATSs) since 2023.

Nasdaq’s biggest competitor, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), filed for a 24/7 tokenized venue early this year. While SEC approval for this remains pending, its standard equities trading 22/5 was approved last year, with launch expected this year.

Key reasons for pursuing extended trading sessions

In the announcement, Nasdaq President Tal Cohen noted that its new trading timelines would capture global trading in US equities, which surged by 97% between 2019 and 2024. Tech and AI buildouts have caused the Nasdaq Composite to surge over 13% year-to-date, now hovering at historic highs of 26,300.

Source: MarketWatch

Even more, the extension is a response to retailers’ exodus to 24/7 digital markets, including platforms such as Hyperliquid.