24/5 Settlement Is Here for US Stocks, but Cryptocurrency Didn't Get a Ticket
The U.S. National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC), a subsidiary of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), has announced the implementation of 24-hour clearing operations on weekdays. This move, approved by the SEC and being rolled out in phases, fundamentally challenges a core narrative of the cryptocurrency industry: that digital assets offer a unique advantage with their 7x24 trading availability, unlike traditional markets that close at 4 p.m.
The transition to near-continuous clearing for stocks and other traditional assets diminishes this perceived crypto edge. While crypto markets still operate on weekends, the article notes that DTCC could potentially expand to weekend clearing in the future if demand warrants.
The development is presented as another instance where DTCC has disappointed crypto enthusiasts. Despite frequent speculation from communities supporting Ethereum, XRP Ledger, and others that DTCC would integrate public blockchains, the clearing giant consistently opts for private, permissioned distributed ledger solutions for its projects, such as its Ion platform and a recent U.S. Treasury tokenization initiative on the Canton network.
The article concludes that the successful launch of this traditional finance "always-on" market relied entirely on existing mature infrastructure, with the cryptocurrency industry failing to secure a role or "admission ticket" in its implementation.
Foresight News07/01 10:03
