Traditional finance and digital assets are accelerating their integration: Nasdaq applies for tokenized stocks, and HashKey launches a $500 million fund

Nasdaq, the world's second-largest stock exchange, has reportedly submitted an application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requesting rule changes to allow the listing and trading of tokenized stocks.

According to the filing, Nasdaq plans to allow stocks to be traded in two parallel formats: a traditional format, a digital record of ownership not based on blockchain technology, and a tokenized format, which uses blockchain technology to digitally represent ownership interests.

Nasdaq's application specifically states that all tokenized assets must be clearly identified in transactions to ensure that market participants can accurately identify and process such transactions. Crucially, tokenized stocks will enjoy the same trading privileges as traditional stocks.

Furthermore, Nasdaq emphasized that the so-called "tokenized U.S. stocks" currently offered by some trading platforms do not actually represent actual equity in the corresponding U.S. companies.

These products are essentially digital trading rights derived from traditional stocks purchased and held by the platforms themselves, and do not carry the full shareholder rights enjoyed by traditional stock holders. Meanwhile, Asian crypto finance giant HashKey Group announced the launch of a $500 million Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) investment fund, initially focusing on the price performance of Bitcoin and Ethereum. The fund adopts a perpetual structure and is open only to institutional investors, allowing for regular subscriptions and redemptions, similar to open-ended crypto hedge funds. Unlike passive exchange-traded funds (ETFs), HashKey's fund invests exclusively in projects and companies that employ DAT strategies.

"Compared to passive ETF products, DATs are more aligned with the 24/7, high-volatility nature of the crypto market," HashKey stated in a statement. HashKey Group operates a wide range of businesses, including licensed exchanges, ETFs, and Ethereum's second-layer blockchain.

In April of this year, the company also launched Asia's first XRP tracking fund, expanding its institutional product line. As of August 31, 2025, HashKey Exchange was ranked 15th on Coingecko, making it the highest-ranked licensed virtual asset exchange in Hong Kong.

Although these two paths lead in different directions, they ultimately drive the same trend: the boundaries between traditional finance and crypto assets are blurring, and a new integrated financial market is taking shape.