20.08.2026 16:20
The traditional structure of trading hours in financial markets, which has persisted for many years, is preparing to change. Nasdaq's move to allow trading for 23 hours a day, five days a week in the US stock market shows that the boundaries between traditional finance and continuously operating digital markets are increasingly blurring.
Nasdaq's new model will add a night session to existing pre-market, regular session, and after-hours trading. Thus, trading hours for US stocks and exchange-traded products could extend up to 23 hours daily.
The structure approved by the SEC is planned to be activated after the completion of the technical infrastructure.
The concept of time is changing in global markets
One of the main reasons behind Nasdaq's move is the increasing global demand for US stocks.
According to information published by the company, in the new system, a new night session will be added between 21:00-04:00 ET to the existing trading period of 04:00-20:00 ET. There will be a one-hour break between the two sessions for daily technical operations.
This structure aims to make it easier for investors, especially those living outside the US, to access the market without being tied to New York time.
Nasdaq has also noted in its statements that investors now want to access US markets from different geographies across broader time ranges.
"Markets are global, but trading hours still depend on a single geography"
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen, while evaluating Nasdaq's 23-hour trading plan, said that one of the fundamental contradictions in the global financial system is trading hours.
According to Bitget CEO Gracy Chen, while company balance sheets, geopolitical developments, or significant market movements can occur at any time of the day, a large part of traditional markets remains tied to the working hours of a specific geography.
Chen stated that investors want to be able to react the moment an important development occurs, and noted that the demand for longer trading hours has increased for this reason.
Crypto markets have been operating 24/7 for years
The continuous market model, which seems new from a traditional finance perspective, has long been considered standard for crypto investors.
Bitcoin and other digital assets trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen believes that investors raised in crypto markets, therefore, increasingly find it less natural for access to financial markets to be limited to specific hours.
According to Chen, Nasdaq's expansion of trading hours shows that traditional financial infrastructure is beginning to move closer to the "always accessible market" expectation that has existed in digital markets for years.
Being open for 23 hours does not always mean being liquid
However, longer trading hours do not mean that all problems in the markets will disappear.
Gracy Chen points out that trading for 23 hours does not mean the same market depth and liquidity will exist throughout those 23 hours.
If trading volume decreases during night hours, spreads between bid and ask prices could widen, or price slippage on large orders could increase.
Nasdaq's model will also continue to work with end-of-day processes and existing settlement systems.
Therefore, continuous trading and continuous clearing and settlement infrastructure do not mean the same thing.
Forbes: The boundaries between crypto and Wall Street are disappearing
This transformation in the financial world is not limited to Nasdaq expanding its trading hours.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen, in an interview with Forbes Argentina, said that the distinction between crypto and traditional finance will become increasingly less pronounced in the coming years.
Chen predicts that in the future, instead of a separate financial space consisting only of the crypto sector, blockchain infrastructure will become more integrated with traditional financial products such as stocks, funds, private credit, foreign exchange, and commodities.
Speaking to Forbes, Chen stated that investors no longer distinguish assets merely as "crypto" or "traditional finance"; they place more importance on criteria such as liquidity, global access, and trading hours.
Tokenization is accelerating this convergence
Tokenization forms another important pillar of the convergence between crypto and traditional finance.
Infrastructure for representing stocks and other financial assets on the blockchain has been developing rapidly recently.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen, speaking to Forbes Argentina, noted that tokenization is not just about moving an asset onto the blockchain; product structure, liquidity, and investor experience are at least as important as technology.
According to Chen, the adoption rate of tokenized assets within traditional finance could increase significantly in the coming years.
As part of its Universal Exchange approach, Bitget is also carrying out work to bring crypto assets and tokenized financial products together on the same infrastructure.
Nasdaq is expanding its "always open market" strategy
Nasdaq's recent steps also show that this transformation is not just about trading hours.
In August, Nasdaq announced it had reached an agreement to acquire Level Markets, one of the significant alternative trading systems in the US. The company directly defined this acquisition as part of its "always-on markets" strategy.
In Nasdaq's statement, it was emphasized that the convergence of boundaries between traditional and digital markets has increased investors' demand for different liquidity models.
A new era in financial markets
Nasdaq's 23-hour trading model is seen as one of the most concrete examples of traditional finance moving closer to the uninterrupted access model that crypto markets have had for years.
However, in the new era, the real competition will not be shaped solely by how many hours markets remain open.
Liquidity, trading quality, settlement infrastructure, security, and access to different asset classes will be among the main competitive areas for financial platforms in the coming period.
According to Bitget CEO Gracy Chen's assessment, the next phase of the financial world could be shaped not so much by markets further extending their current trading hours, but by bringing different asset classes together on an infrastructure that can operate seamlessly from the start.
Nasdaq's step also shows that the distance between Wall Street and digital markets is increasingly narrowing.
*The information in the news regarding Nasdaq has been compiled from Nasdaq's public regulatory documents and statements, while the assessments on the convergence of crypto and traditional finance have been compiled from Forbes Argentina's interview with Bitget CEO Gracy Chen and Chen's public evaluations. The content is for general informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice.
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