ICE Puts Avalanche Tech Through Year-Long Testing for On-Chain ATS
Ava Labs' president, Charley Cooper, revealed at the Avalanche Summit on September 16-17 that Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, has been testing Avalanche's technology for a year. The focus is on developing an on-chain Alternative Trading System (ATS) to enable around-the-clock trading of tokenized stocks with instant settlement.
ICE first disclosed plans for the ATS in February 2026, describing a system that pairs the NYSE's Pillar matching engine with blockchain infrastructure to settle tokenized equities against stablecoins. Michael Blaugrund, ICE's Vice President of Strategic Planning and former NYSE COO, confirmed that Avalanche meets many requirements for such a platform but noted no formal selection has been made.
Cooper described a close working relationship between Ava Labs and ICE, calling the year-long testing process 'meaningful' but not a contract signing. When asked about the significance of this development, Cooper emphasized that when ICE evaluates technology for a year, it signals the technology passed initial scrutiny and survived institutional due diligence.
A blockchain-based ATS would allow investors to trade tokenized US equities outside traditional exchange hours, settling instantly without waiting for American markets to open. This is part of a larger trend in institutional finance integrations, with Avalanche's subnet architecture being a key selling point for regulated entities.