Wall Street Tests Avalanche for 24/7 Tokenized Trading: AVAX Drops 8% After Major Upgrade

The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange, has been testing Avalanche (CRYPTO: AVAX) for around a year as a platform to trade tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs 24/7. However, following Helicon, the network’s largest upgrade that went live on September 22, 2026, AVAX experienced an 8% drop.

This situation is striking because while Avalanche’s testing with ICE marks significant progress, traders had already anticipated the upgrade, resulting in the drop. Despite this, AVAX rose 25% over the week to $10.31, outpacing gains in Bitcoin (up 5%) and Ethereum (up 3%). The token had a notable 55% run, moving from $7.60 on September 17 to $11.80 on September 21.

The real question now is whether ICE’s interest in Avalanche offers any real value to token holders, or if the network’s advancements and the token’s price movements are fundamentally separate.

ICE Has Tested Avalanche for a Year and Has Not Chosen It

A tokenized stock is a share represented as a token on a blockchain, allowing trading without typical business-hours constraints. This means settlements can occur any time, including late at night, rather than waiting until the next business day. While ICE has been assessing whether Avalanche can handle this for listed stocks and ETFs, Ava Labs President Charley Cooper mentions that discussions are ongoing.

However, ICE has not yet committed to using Avalanche, announced a deal, or provided a launch date. The test could be halted without any explanation.

Current commitments are relatively small, such as New York Life Investment Management launching a tokenized bond fund on the network, Paxos adding AVAX and USDC to its regulated payment services, and Janus Henderson acting as a validator. None of these participants are exchanges.

Helicon Made Staking Easier to Leave, and Traders Sold the Event

Helicon introduces several changes to how Avalanche compensates and locks up its validators—those who confirm transactions on the network. One major change reduces the minimum staking period from 14 days to just 48 hours, while also introducing auto-renewing stakes and modifying the reward rate. It also lets the main chain process transactions more efficiently while consensus is underway.

This shorter lockup period benefits institutions that want to stake without tying up capital for long periods. However, it also means any staker can turn their coins into sellable assets within two days, which could lead to increased supply or selling pressure.

The “sell-the-news” pattern influenced the token’s price movement. The highest trading volume occurred on September 20—two days before the upgrade—while trading activity gradually decreased through September 24. On that day, sellers pushed AVAX down to $9.97, but buyers lifted it back to a closing price of $10.20, showing that the $10 mark is holding firm.

A Bank Can Settle on Avalanche Without Needing AVAX

When a financial institution tests a blockchain for settlement, it doesn’t necessarily have to purchase its native coin. For example, a bank could settle a tokenized Treasury using a stablecoin or a tokenized deposit. Additionally, on a custom Avalanche chain—a private network for approved participants—the operator might use a different token to cover transaction fees. This means that transaction activity might never directly involve AVAX.

Currently, fees on Avalanche’s main chain must be paid in AVAX, and validators on custom chains do the same under existing arrangements. Although these mechanisms exist, they represent a small fraction of the potential value that can be processed on the chain, so overall trading volume and demand for AVAX could develop at different rates.

Does Wall Street’s Interest in Avalanche Benefit AVAX Holders?

At this stage, it seems that it does not. The Avalanche network gains credibility, attracts developer attention, and stands to become foundational for markets that never close. However, AVAX holders received a 25% boost driven by speculation, with no clear demand for the token itself.

Development progress for the network and token price increases are not necessarily linked, and so far, evidence supports only the network’s growth. The risk for holders involves owning a token influenced by market sentiment until there is concrete commitment from a significant institution, such as a dedicated partnership, acknowledgment of tokenized trading volumes, or the launch of continuous trading with AVAX as the transaction fee. If these tests remain uncommitted, AVAX might struggle to hold the $10 mark, about 3% below its current level; a daily close below this price could signal the rally is losing momentum.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.