24/7 and the Market of the Future: What Will Change If Stocks Start Trading Around the Clock

The stock market has existed for several centuries. For most of that time, it followed one simple rule: trade during market hours, wait when the market is closed. But this approach is changing. Exchanges are extending their sessions, while tokenized stocks that trade around the clock are also emerging.

Kazakhstan’s ITS trading venue already operates for almost 19 hours a day. Meanwhile, the world’s largest exchanges - NYSE and Nasdaq - are planning to move to a 22-23-hour model. What does this mean for investors? Let’s break it down step by step.

Why Trading Used to Last Only a Few Hours

Historically, exchanges operated during strictly limited hours because trading was physical. Brokers gathered in one hall, shouted, waved their hands, and made deals on paper. The entire system required a clear schedule: opening, trading session, closing, and data processing.

Today, trading is code, servers, and algorithms. A person no longer needs to be physically present on the exchange floor. And yet the NYSE still operates from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. New York time. That is about 6.5 hours a day, excluding pre-market and after-hours trading. The London Stock Exchange trades for 8.5 hours. Hong Kong, with a lunch break, for around 5.5 hours. Five days a week.

Many market participants consider this standard outdated against the backdrop of modern digital infrastructure. And it is beginning to change.

What Is Happening Now: US Exchanges Are Moving Toward Around-the-Clock Trading

In February 2025, NYSE Arca, one of the trading venues within the New York Stock Exchange group, became the first major US exchange to receive approval from the SEC - the US securities regulator - to extend its trading hours. Under the approved plan, NYSE Arca will operate from 1:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. New York time from Monday through Thursday, and from 1:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. New York time on Friday. This brings the exchange closer to an almost round-the-clock weekday trading model. The launch is scheduled for the end of 2026.

In April 2026, the SEC approved a similar plan for Nasdaq - trading in stocks and ETFs 23 hours a day, five days a week. The target launch date is December 6, 2026.

The new 24X exchange has also received approval for 23-hour trading.

In addition, NYSE is exploring the use of blockchain infrastructure for around-the-clock trading of tokenized assets and faster settlement.

Another important point: in mid-2026, DTCC, the US clearing corporation through which trades are settled, plans to switch to a 24/5 operating model. This is a key requirement: without it, exchanges cannot fully extend trading hours.

The figures show that demand for extended-hours trading already exists. In the second quarter of 2025, more than 2 billion shares a day were traded outside the regular session, worth over $62 billion. That was 11.5% of total US equity trading volume. In 2019, the share was half as large.

Kazakhstan Is Already There: ITS Is Available 19 Hours a Day

While global exchanges are still discussing plans, extended trading has already become a reality in Kazakhstan.

The International Trading System (ITS), which operates within the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), expanded its trading session on April 3, 2026, to nearly 19 hours a day - from 9:00 a.m. to 3:45 a.m. the next day, Astana time.

For comparison, when ITS launched in June 2023, its session lasted 16 hours - from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. It was then gradually extended.

Today, the ITS session overlaps the trading windows of three regions at once: Asia, Europe, and North America. Trading opens during the active Asian session and closes after the main NYSE and Nasdaq sessions have ended.

“The modern investor does not live according to the schedule of a single exchange. We see demand for market access at any time of day and share this view,” said Kurmet Orazayev, Chief Executive Officer of ITS.

ITS offers access to more than 3,200 securities listed in the US, Europe, and Kazakhstan. Smart Order Routing technology helps execute trades at the best prices available on international venues.

On April 9, 2026, Freedom Inside 2026 took place in Astana - the largest event in the Freedom Holding Corp. ecosystem.

In his speech, Sergey Lukyanov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Freedom Finance Global PLC, noted plans to expand the trading session in the Freedom Broker platform to 21 hours a day together with the ITS trading venue.

What Is a “Night Gap” - and Will It Disappear?

If you have ever followed stocks, you may have noticed this situation: in the evening a stock was worth $100, and in the morning it opens at $95 or $110. You did nothing, but the price jumped. This is a gap.

A gap happens because while the exchange is closed, events in the world continue: a company publishes earnings, important economic data is released, or a geopolitical crisis occurs. The market cannot react instantly, so pressure builds up overnight and then “fires” at the opening.

With a shift toward almost continuous trading, the market will react to events immediately - even at 3:00 a.m. or on weekends. This is good for investors who value predictability.

But gaps will not disappear completely. Weekends will remain if the market still does not operate on Saturday and Sunday. And Friday’s close will still differ from Monday’s open. These price gaps will simply become less frequent and probably smaller.

Tokenization: When Stocks Trade Like Cryptocurrency

Another route to 24/7 trading runs through blockchain.

Tokenized stocks are digital “twins” of ordinary shares issued on a blockchain. Companies such as Backed Finance issue tokens, for example xStocks, that are linked to real securities. Depending on the issuance structure, a token may be backed by real shares and may include a redemption or exchange mechanism through the issuer. But on the blockchain, these tokens trade independently and around the clock.

In June 2025, Robinhood launched 24/5 trading for users in the European Union in tokenized instruments linked to US stocks and ETFs.

Nasdaq is also exploring areas related to digital assets and tokenized market infrastructure.

The point is that blockchain does not know weekends or non-working hours. And if a stock “lives” on a blockchain, technically it can trade around the clock.

Cryptocurrency Is Already 24/7

The easiest way to understand what a round-the-clock market looks like is to look at cryptocurrency. Bitcoin trades without stopping: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. No closing, no gaps after weekends.

Let’s look at what this means in practice.

Pros of the crypto market as a 24/7 model:

- Any event in the world is immediately reflected in the price - no accumulated pressure
- An investor from Tokyo, Almaty, or Nairobi can trade at a convenient time
- There is no “monopoly” of American or European time zones

Cons that are clearly visible in crypto:

- The market never “sleeps” - and this is psychologically exhausting
- Nighttime price moves are often sharp because liquidity is lower: fewer participants and fewer trades by number and volume
- Manipulation outside regular hours is more common precisely because fewer eyes are watching the market.

 

Comparison: Stock Market and Cryptocurrency

 

Will the Market Become More Emotional?

This is one of the main questions raised by critics of 24/7 trading.

The answer is most likely yes, and here is why. Today, investors have forced pauses. The market closes, and you cannot buy or sell no matter how nervous you are. This helps people make more balanced decisions. Sometimes the morning is wiser than the evening - and the market, too, is often “wiser” after a night’s pause.

With around-the-clock trading, this pause disappears. Bad news comes out at night - someone starts panicking and selling at 3:00 a.m., and does so when liquidity is low. This amplifies price moves: one large trade during a quiet nighttime period can move the price more than the same trade during the day.

This is exactly what we see in cryptocurrency. The crypto market trades 24/7, and this is one reason flash crashes often happen there: sharp drops of tens of percent within minutes, followed by a rebound. One reason is nighttime panic at low trading volumes, which triggers a wave of selling by algorithms, or automated trading systems.

Psychologically, It Will Be Harder

In the US, analysts warn that a transition to 22-23-hour trading creates a problem of human fatigue. Traders and analysts will need to work in several shifts. Algorithms can handle it. People cannot.

For an ordinary investor - not a trader, but someone who simply holds stocks in a portfolio - psychological pressure may also increase:

- The temptation to “check quotes” will become constant - at any time of day or night
- Nighttime price moves will provoke emotional decisions
- Fear of missing out, or FOMO, will intensify

All of this is well known from the experience of crypto investors. Many admit that they check the Bitcoin price at night, lose sleep, and make impulsive decisions. The same may now come to the stock market.

The conclusion is simple: the longer market hours become, the more important it is to have a clear investment strategy and stick to it, rather than reacting to every overnight fluctuation.

Pros and Cons of 24/7 Trading: An Honest View

Pros

For investors in different time zones. A Kazakhstan-based investor will no longer have to trade US stocks only from 6:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.; they will be able to do it at a convenient time.

Faster reaction to news. Earnings came out at 3:50 a.m.? The price can adjust immediately, instead of opening the next day with a huge gap.

Fewer gaps. Fewer “surprises” at the open and smoother price formation.

More opportunities for trading and risk management. Investors will be able to place a stop-loss or take profit at any moment. New trading strategies will also come into play.

Cons

Low nighttime liquidity. At night, there are fewer participants in the market. This means wider spreads between bid and ask prices and a greater impact of individual large orders on price.

Manipulation. Fewer participants mean it is easier to move the price. This is a risk regulators will have to address.

Psychological pressure. The market never sleeps, which means it will be harder for investors to switch off.

Operational complexity for brokers and exchanges. Systems must work without failures for 22-23 hours. This requires investment in infrastructure.

Risk for beginners. An inexperienced investor trading emotionally at 2:00 a.m. creates additional pressure on the entire ecosystem.

What This Means for the Average Investor

If you invest for the long term - meaning you hold stocks for one, three, or five years - the shift to 24/7 trading changes almost nothing. Your “buy and hold” strategy does not depend on whether the market opens at 9:30 a.m. or at 3:00 a.m.

If you are an active investor or trader, there may be many changes:

- Strategies based on opening gaps will need to be reconsidered
- It will become possible to trade at any convenient time, but there will also be more temptations
- It is important to set rules for yourself in advance: when you trade, when you do not, and what limits you place on overnight positions

Most importantly, extended trading hours are a tool. Like any tool, they are neither good nor bad. Everything depends on how you use them.