The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and Ernst & Young LLP (EY US), titled “The Shift to 24×5 Trading: What It Means for U.S. Equity Markets”, explicitly highlights how the rise of 24×7 crypto markets is fueling global investor demand for extended trading hours in traditional U.S. equities.
The report analyzes industry surveys and trends, projecting that up to 10% of total U.S. equity volume could trade during overnight sessions by 2028, driven largely by this convergence of crypto-inspired expectations and global participation.
The report notes that the convergence of securities and crypto brokerages is a major catalyst, as retail and institutional investors accustomed to crypto’s near-continuous access (24×7) now expect similar availability for U.S. stocks.
This “always-on” mindset is particularly strong among Asia-Pacific (APAC) investors, who represent a growing share of global demand and face time-zone barriers with current U.S. market hours typically 9:30 AM–4:00 PM ET.
Regulatory permissiveness and surging international interest—especially from APAC—are key factors pushing the industry toward 24×5 trading Sunday 8:00 PM ET to Friday 8:00 PM ET, with brief pauses. The report emphasizes that extending hours aligns U.S. markets with a “global, always-on investor base,” reducing fragmentation and enhancing accessibility.
Based on surveys of market participants, 1–10% of equity volume is expected to migrate to overnight sessions by 2028. This could reshape liquidity patterns, with implications for pricing, volatility, and execution.
Nearly 60% of firms surveyed plan upgrades to technology, risk management, and liquidity tools to handle extended hours. Key areas include: Updating circuit breakers, surveillance, and Securities Information Processor (SIP) data feeds for real-time accuracy.
Managing intraday liquidity and collateral in a non-stop environment, drawing lessons from crypto’s 24/7 operations. DTCC is extending its clearing hours to support this shift, starting mid-2026, to bolster market safety.
Mark Nichols, Principal and Capital Markets Strategy Leader, EY US: “Extending trading hours represents a significant step for U.S. equity markets, aligning market structure with the expectations of an increasingly global, always-on investor base.”
Through this collaboration with DTCC, we aim to equip market participants with clear, actionable insights on navigating the complex firmwide implications and operating model considerations of a 24×5 trading environment—helping the industry collectively build a more accessible and resilient marketplace.
Val Wotton, Managing Director and Global Head of Equities Solutions, DTCC: “As interest in near round-the-clock trading of U.S. equities grows, we are meeting this demand by extending our clearing hours to support our clients and further strengthen the safety and soundness of the markets.”
This report builds on ongoing SEC approvals and exchange initiatives, such as NYSE Arca’s plan for 22-hour trading sessions 1:30 AM–11:30 PM ET Monday–Thursday, launching late 2026 and FINRA’s expansion of trade reporting facilities.
These projections center on the anticipated migration of trading activity to “overnight” sessions outside traditional 9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. ET hours, influenced by global investor demands, crypto market parallels, and regulatory shifts.
The report estimates that 1%–10% of total U.S. equity volume could shift to overnight sessions by 2028. This represents a potential multi-billion-dollar notional value increase, given that average daily U.S. equity volume exceeds $500 billion in notional terms based on recent market averages.
Currently, overnight volumes hover at ~1% of total daily notional traded, primarily in limited after-hours activity via electronic communication networks (ECNs) and alternative trading systems (ATS). The projected range suggests a 10x potential uplift at the high end, though the lower bound implies minimal disruption.
63% of surveyed participants anticipate an increase in overnight volumes, aligning with key milestones like the National Securities Clearing Corporation’s (NSCC) extended clearing hours launch on June 28, 2026.
Medium-Term (by 2028): 74% expect meaningful changes, with the 1%–10% range materializing as exchanges (e.g., NYSE Arca) roll out 22-hour sessions starting late 2026.
The range accounts for optimistic (10%) vs. conservative (1%) outcomes. High-end scenarios assume strong retail adoption and APAC inflows; low-end ones factor in slower infrastructure buildout or regulatory hurdles.
The projections stem from a DTCC-led survey of 95 market participants across 84 firms, including 72 NSCC members. Respondents were queried on expected volume shifts over 2–3 years, operational readiness, and risk perceptions. This sample skews toward sell-side and clearing entities, providing a practitioner lens but potentially underrepresenting pure buy-side views.
Overnight sessions may see thinner books, leading to wider bid-ask spreads potentially 2–5x daytime levels and price dislocations, deterring all but opportunistic traders. Extended hours strain surveillance, raising fraud risks in a less-regulated environment.
~60% of firms plan tech upgrades, but staffing shortages and system downtimes could bottleneck growth. DTCC’s enhanced margining mitigates this, but asymmetric liquidity might inflate default risks by 10–20% in stress scenarios.
A 1%–10% overnight shift could redistribute ~$5–50 billion in daily notional, fostering a more globalized U.S. market but introducing volatility spillovers, It aligns equities with forex/commodities’ extended hours, potentially boosting overall efficiency by 5–10% via reduced settlement delays.
As the U.S. clearing powerhouse, DTCC’s infrastructure is “future-proofed” for 24×5, with the 2026 NSCC transition as a proving ground. Projections underscore DTCC’s role in risk mitigation—e.g., dynamic intraday margins could capture 20–30% more collateral in volatile overnight trades—enhancing systemic resilience.
DTCC’s projections paint a plausible, retail-led evolution toward 24×5 trading, with the 1%–10% range by 2028 signaling modest but transformative growth. Success hinges on liquidity bootstrapping and risk harmonization; absent these, volumes may cluster at the lower end.
This analysis positions the shift as evolutionary rather than revolutionary, borrowing crypto’s playbook to modernize equities. Crypto’s role is echoed in related discussions, where lessons from perpetual swaps and DeFi are informing equities’ evolution toward frictionless, global access.
