U.S. stocks will also have 24-hour trading! The SEC has announced a September roundtable meeting, and Nasdaq could launch it as early as the second half of the year.

The SEC will hold a public roundtable at its Washington headquarters on September 17 to formally discuss preparations for the U.S. stock market’s comprehensive shift to 24-hour trading. Nasdaq, Cboe, and the London Stock Exchange have already taken the lead, and the era of “never-ending” traditional stock markets is nearing.
（Background: Nasdaq has applied to the SEC for a 5×23 trading rule set, with the U.S. stock market’s “never-ending” trading potentially going live as early as the second half of 2026）
（Additional context: SEC Chair Paul Atkins reiterates the goal of building a “global crypto hub”—returning to its regulatory mission and driving Crypto+AI financial innovation）

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• Nasdaq leads the way, with Cboe moving in parallel
• The crypto industry’s “around-the-clock” trading is spreading to traditional markets
• Direct impact on Taiwanese investors

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins announced on Thursday that the SEC will hold a public roundtable at its Washington headquarters on September 17 to formally discuss the U.S. stock market’s transition to 24-hour, all-day trading.

“The U.S. stock market is moving to a new day, which also includes the night,” Atkins said. “As night trading expands, I’m looking forward to the U.S. stock market aligning with markets that already trade around the clock.”

The roundtable will cover three main topics: preparations for after-hours trading, operational mechanisms for a 24-hour market, and market resilience safeguards.

Nasdaq leads the way, with Cboe moving in parallel

Nasdaq has already begun communicating with U.S. regulators as early as March this year. It plans to offer a trading service on its stock market for 5 days a week, 24 hours a day, with the goal of launching in the second half of 2026, subject to obtaining “regulatory approval and alignment.”

Cboe (Chicago Board of Trade) has also launched a 24-hour stock trading service, becoming the first U.S. exchange to implement all-day trading.

As for the London Stock Exchange, it is reported that it is planning to introduce an after-hours trading session in early 2027, joining the ranks of global “never-ending” exchanges.

The crypto industry’s “around-the-clock” trading is spreading to traditional markets

The trend toward 24-hour trading first originated in the crypto market. Bitcoin and major tokens have already been trading around the clock for more than ten years, and retail investors have long been accustomed to a trading model that allows them to enter and exit at any time.

This SEC-driven push for 24-hour trading is, in effect, bringing the standards of the crypto market into the traditional stock market. For retail investors, it means they may be able to trade U.S. stocks during the daytime of Asian business days, without having to wait for the U.S. market open in Eastern Time. For institutional investors, it means they can respond more quickly to global events—whether fluctuations in the Tokyo stock market, the European Central Bank’s interest-rate decisions, or corporate earnings released late at night.

Direct impact on Taiwanese investors

Taiwanese investors currently trade U.S. stocks using U.S. Eastern Time (from evening in Taipei to early morning the next day). If U.S. stocks move fully to 24-hour trading, Taiwanese retail investors could trade U.S. stocks simultaneously during normal daytime hours, greatly reducing the information gap caused by time differences and improving convenience.

This also means additional pressure for upgrades to systems used by Taiwanese securities firms and trading platforms. Currently, most Taiwanese brokerages’ U.S. stock trading still relies on the opening hours of U.S. exchanges. With 24-hour trading, the trading system, clearing system, and customer service would all need to operate around the clock.