MEXC CEO says market access is becoming crypto platforms’ next test

MEXC chief executive Vugar Usi has described broader global market access as an emerging competitive test for crypto platforms, citing extended-hours equity trading plans and investor demand for instruments that respond outside conventional exchange schedules. In a Finextra opinion column, Usi said delayed access can create execution risk for institutions and limit participation for retail users across markets.

Usi pointed to Nasdaq’s approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission to extend trading to 23 hours a day, five days a week. He also cited NYSE Arca’s pursuit of a similar model and DTCC’s National Securities Clearing Corporation preparing clearing support on a 24x5 basis.

Those moves, in his view, show that established market infrastructure is responding to expectations shaped by crypto markets, where trading has typically been continuous. He argued that longer trading hours address only part of the issue, because account access, geography, product eligibility and settlement rails still determine who can act on market-moving information.

Crypto venues look beyond digital assets

Usi said crypto platforms are evolving from digital-asset exchanges into wider access points for equities, commodities and other exposures. He framed the shift as a response to users who track company earnings, macroeconomic data and digital assets in the same news cycle, while financial products often remain divided by venue and account structure.

According to Usi, equity access is central to this change because it connects crypto-native capital with companies, sectors and macro themes that already anchor many global portfolios. He identified prediction markets, tokenized equities, real-stock access models and commodity perpetual contracts as different responses to the same demand for faster routes to exposure.

Prediction markets, as described by Usi, can convert expectations about elections, policy decisions, legal rulings or technology milestones into live prices. He said growth in prediction-market open interest indicates demand for real-time signals, while also raising regulatory issues because such markets can sit close to regulated event contracts.

He said platforms operating in this area need objective settlement criteria, controls against manipulation and clear user-eligibility rules before volumes expand further. For investors and regulators, those conditions determine whether event-based products function as transparent price-discovery tools or introduce new market-integrity risks.

Tokenized stocks and commodity products

Usi also argued that tokenized equities extend traditional asset exposure through blockchain-based settlement infrastructure. He said the model raises questions about investor rights, redemption and custody, while reflecting a broader expectation that digital and traditional assets may increasingly sit inside the same platform environment.

Commodity perpetual contracts, in his account, offer another example of crypto-native infrastructure being applied outside crypto itself. Usi cited gold, silver, oil and other benchmarks as markets that may react to macroeconomic or geopolitical developments during local market closures. He added that leveraged products require risk controls and transparent mechanisms.

The access issue is especially visible in high-growth technology, Usi said, because private companies often remain outside public markets for longer periods. He cited SpaceX as an example of a private company that has drawn global investor attention through launch milestones, valuation reports and speculation about a possible initial public offering.

Usi said demand alone cannot resolve market-structure issues. Products linked to private or pre-IPO exposure, he argued, require careful treatment of rights, valuation methodology, redemption design, eligibility and user disclosures.

He concluded that platforms seeking to combine crypto and traditional market exposure will be judged on execution as well as product range. In his view, custody, trading-system resilience, disclosures and operational partnerships will shape whether broader access models earn user trust.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.