NYSE and HIP-3 Aren't Competing

The lazy take is that 24/7 trading was the only value prop. NYSE and HIP-3 aren’t even competing for the same user.

“NYSE 24/7 trading is a one-shot kill for all equity perp DEXs. The only reason to trade on Hyperliquid was 24/7 availability. That’s dead now.”

It’s a clean narrative. It’s intuitive. It sounds smart.

It’s also wrong.

THE LAZY ANALYSIS

The argument goes like this:

• People traded equity perps on HIP-3 because US markets close at 4pm
• NYSE announces 24/7 tokenized trading
• Therefore, no reason to use HIP-3 anymore
• Equity perp DEXs are dead

If 24/7 availability was the only value proposition, this would be correct.

But it wasn’t. Not even close.

24/7 was just the easiest thing to explain.

WHAT NYSE IS ACTUALLY BUILDING

Let’s be specific about what NYSE announced:

• Tokenized US equities and ETFs
• 24/7 trading availability
• Instant settlement (relative to T+1)
• Stablecoin-based funding
• Pending regulatory approval
• Launching “later this year” (maybe)

This is significant. I’m not dismissing it.

But let’s also be specific about what NYSE isn’t building:

• Not permissionless
• Not global
• Not leveraged
• Not composable
• Not self-custodied

These aren’t minor details. They’re fundamental product differences.

THE FEATURE COMPARISON NO ONE’S MAKING

Let me lay this out clearly:

Access Requirements

NYSE Tokenized:

• KYC/AML verification
• Likely accredited investor status
• US brokerage account
• Bank account for funding
• Regulatory jurisdiction restrictions

HIP-3 Perps:

• A wallet

That’s it. Anyone, anywhere, with an internet connection.

A 22-year-old in Lagos can’t open a Schwab account to trade NYSE tokenized NVDA. They can connect to @ markets_xyz in 30 seconds though.

This isn’t a marginal difference. It’s a completely different addressable market.

Leverage

NYSE Tokenized:

• Regulation T applies: 50% initial margin
• Maximum 2x leverage on equities
• Same margin requirements as traditional markets

HIP-3 Perps:

• Up to 20x leverage (varies by market)
• Isolated margin
• Position sizing flexibility

If you want to express a leveraged view on TSLA price movement, NYSE tokenized shares give you 2x.

HIP-3 gives you 20x.

What You’re Actually Buying

NYSE Tokenized:

• Actual equity ownership
• Dividend rights
• Voting rights
• Counterparty: brokerage + DTCC + custodian

HIP-3 Perps:

• Synthetic price exposure
• No ownership, no dividends
• Pure speculation instrument
• Counterparty: smart contract

One is an ownership instrument. One is a trading instrument.

“NYSE kills HIP-3” is like saying “ETFs killed options.” They’re different products for different use cases.

Speed to Market

NYSE: Needs to tokenize each security individually. Regulatory approval per asset class. Months or years to add new listings.

HIP-3: Permissionless deployment. Any asset with a price feed. Live in hours.

Want to trade SpaceX before IPO? Mag 7 index? Crude oil? Nvidia earnings volatility?

HIP-3 can list it this week. NYSE needs a regulatory framework that doesn’t exist yet.

Composability

NYSE tokenized equities live on private blockchains with permissioned access. They don’t compose with anything.

HIP-3 positions are on-chain primitives. They can be:

• Used as collateral in lending protocols
• Hedged with other DeFi instruments
• Integrated into yield strategies
• Programmatically managed

This matters for sophisticated power users building complex positions.

Timeline

NYSE: “Later this year, pending regulatory approval.”

Translation: Could be December 2026. Could be 2027. Could be never if SEC drags feet.

HIP-3: Live since October 2025. Billions in volume already processed.

One is a press release. One is live in production.

THE ACTUAL MARKET SEGMENTATION

Here’s what’s really happening:

NYSE Tokenized serves US retail investors wanting regulated exposure to listed US equities with legal protections through existing brokerage relationships, with standard margin requirements.

HIP-3 serves global traders wanting permissionless access to any asset with a price feed - with leverage, self-custody, and DeFi composability.

These are different users with different needs.

NYSE isn’t taking market share from HIP-3. They’re serving a market that HIP-3 was never going to capture anyway, regulated US retail who want ownership, not exposure.

The global degen who wants 10x leveraged synthetic NVDA exposure isn’t suddenly going to open a Schwab account because NYSE has 24/7 trading.

THE AIRDROP FARMING COPE

“The only reason people used HIP-3 was to farm airdrops.”

Even if this were true for some users, it ignores:

• $XYZ100 (@ tradexyz) did $1.3B volume in 3 weeks - I guarantee that’s not just farmers
• Real demand exists for leveraged, permissionless equity exposure
• Global users with no NYSE access will continue using HIP-3
• The product-market fit is validated by actual usage

Airdrop farming brought attention. Utility keeps users.

THE REAL QUESTION

The correct framing isn’t “Does NYSE kill HIP-3?”

It’s: “What percentage of global demand for equity price exposure is served by regulated US brokerages?”

Answer: A minority.

Most of the world can’t access NYSE, tokenized or not. KYC requirements, jurisdiction restrictions, banking access, accreditation rules.

HIP-3 serves everyone else. And “everyone else” is a massive market if you haven’t noticed by now.

THE IRONY

Tommy Shaughnessy (@ Shaughnessy119) put it perfectly:

“Solana was built to compete with NYSE. Now NYSE is competing with Solana’s core thesis.”

Read that again.

Crypto didn’t copy TradFi’s playbook. TradFi is copying crypto’s playbook.

But here’s what Tommy also noted: NYSE’s version will be “KYC’d, permissioned, and mostly focused on stocks” - different from the permissionless, global, any-asset model that crypto already built.

Permissionless infrastructure isn’t a feature you can bolt on. It’s a design philosophy. And NYSE, by regulatory necessity, will never be permissionless. They’re building a tokenized version of the same walled garden. Crypto built an open field.

WHERE THIS LEAVES US

NYSE building tokenized equities is validation.

It validates that 24/7, instant-settlement, tokenized markets are the future. The largest exchange on earth just said so explicitly.

But NYSE’s implementation serves a specific, regulated, US-centric market.

HIP-3 serves the permissionless, global, leveraged market that NYSE can’t touch - by design.

Onchain traders aren’t waiting for regulatory approval. They’re not opening brokerage accounts. They’re not accepting 2x leverage limits. They’re trading the future on infrastructure that exists right now.

The lazy take is that 24/7 was the whole value prop.

The real analysis shows it was just the most explainable part.

Permissionless access. Global reach. Leverage. Composability. Self-custody. Speed to market.

These don’t disappear because NYSE made an announcement.

If anything, they matter more now.

The question isn’t NYSE vs HIP-3.

It’s walled garden or open field.

@ markets_xyz created the field. NYSE is still drawing blueprints for the walls.

Higher ↑

Disclaimer:

1. This article is reprinted from [HIGH333R]. All copyrights belong to the original author [HIGH333R]. If there are objections to this reprint, please contact the Gate Learn team, and they will handle it promptly.
2. Liability Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not constitute any investment advice.
3. Translations of the article into other languages are done by the Gate Learn team. Unless mentioned, copying, distributing, or plagiarizing the translated articles is prohibited.