The post Tokens need Nasdaq-style secondary markets appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and do not represent the views and opinions of crypto.news’ editorial. Crypto has world-class launchpads and some of the most liquid spot markets in the world. New tokens can get minted, listed, and traded almost instantly. Once the unlocking or vesting contracts clear, there is plenty of liquidity for them to move. Summary Crypto lacks a “mid-life market” for tokens: Between issuance and spot trading, billions in locked and vested tokens trade off-chain in opaque OTC deals, distorting prices and disadvantaging retail. This gap undermines sustainability and RWA adoption: Without structured secondary liquidity, price discovery breaks, volatility is amplified, and tokenized real-world assets struggle to scale beyond demos. Crypto needs transparent, rule-aware secondary markets: An on-chain, issuer-aware mid-life layer — like Nasdaq Private Markets for tokens — would enable fair access, visible pricing, and orderly circulation across a token’s lifecycle. In the middle of the token lifecycle, there is still a void. Billions in vested and locked allocations sit in limbo with no structured, transparent venues to move them, price them, or manage how they come into circulation. When I first came into crypto trading around 2018, working on the desk of one of Hong Kong’s earliest Bitcoin exchanges, I saw how inefficiency and opacity create huge opportunities for a few and confusion for everyone else. We watched people fly in from Korea with suitcases of cash just to capture the kimchi premium. That kind of spread exists because markets are not joined up and information is not shared evenly. That pattern keeps repeating in different forms throughout a token’s life. Opaque OTC deals and off-chain price discovery thrive, fueling price discrepancies, shaping retail expectations, and distorting the sustainability of token economies. Large holders negotiate in back channels.…

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Filed under: News - @ December 27, 2025 2:27 pm