Nasdaq CEO Outlines 3 Ways Blockchain Can Fix Finance

Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman highlighted three major ways blockchain can transform the financial sector: streamlining post-trade processes, enhancing collateral mobility, and improving payments. Friedman emphasized the inefficiencies in the current post-trade infrastructure, which still depends on outdated systems, and suggested that blockchain technology could unify and simplify these workflows, thereby releasing trapped capital. She pointed out that many financial institutions have significant amounts of capital tied up in clearinghouses and brokers, and using digital assets could facilitate quicker transfer of collateral across platforms. Additionally, Friedman identified payment systems as a significant bottleneck; enhancing these through blockchain could ease global capital flow, aiding investors' access to various markets. Nasdaq has begun implementing measures to support trading of tokenized securities, aiming to modernize the existing structure without disrupting U.S. equity markets. Friedman believes that enhanced efficiency through blockchain could not only alleviate current frictions but also provide greater flexibility for market participants.

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