Nasdaq files for 23-hour extended trading to meet crypto-era demands, acknowledging the influence of 24/7 crypto trading on investor expectations. The exchange aims to match the global nature of financial markets and investor behavior by extending trading hours from 16 to 23 hours per day, five days a week. The new schedule includes a day session from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, followed by a one-hour break, and then a night session running from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. ET the following day. The trading week begins on Sunday at 9 p.m. and closes on Friday at 8 p.m. Most public crypto companies trade on Nasdaq's exchange, including Coinbase, Robinhood, and Strategy, as well as many bitcoin mining companies. This move would make those stocks more accessible to traders across the globe. The proposal comes as there is a growing demand from global investors to trade U.S. stocks beyond the usual trading hours. Nasdaq observes a growing interest in trading during overnight hours, particularly among investors located in Asia and other foreign jurisdictions where business hours do not coincide with U.S. regular market hours. This has been a trending topic for traditional exchanges for a while. Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange have both offered clues that extended hours were under consideration. Nasdaq's Giang Bui noted that this shift is 'where the markets are moving' and that the exchange had been in discussions with regulators. The new structure would enable broader access to U.S. markets across multiple time zones and could appeal to institutional and retail traders active in global or cryptocurrency markets. Nasdaq submits its proposal to compete for order flow from these investors and to position itself favorably in the future to participate in markets that trade digital assets.
