The US could soon be a home to a 24/7 stock exchange: The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted 24 Exchange, a platform supported by Point72 Ventures, approval to operate as a national securities exchange, marking the first step toward 24/7 stock trading, according to a notice (pdf) posted Wednesday. Initially running during standard hours, the exchange plans to extend trading to overnight sessions (8pm-4am, Sunday through Thursday) once infrastructure and funding requirements are met.

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What this means: The approval requires 24 Exchange to work with other exchanges to integrate into the consolidated market price feed — the “tape” — ensuring prices are public and official. This step allows the startup to operate in the “lit” market during its overnight sessions.

Sign of the times? The SEC’s decision, following a previously rejected application in 2023, reflects a broader shift in the industry. The New York Stock Exchange also recently filed to extend its trading hours to 22 hours per day, signaling a growing interest in accommodating investors across global time zones.

The move addresses growing demand from retail investors for after-hours trading, inspired by the 24/7 accessibility of cryptocurrency markets. Retail brokers like Robinhood already process after-hours stock trades in private “dark pools,” where transactions lack broader market visibility. “Traders are most at risk when the market is closed in their geographic location. (24 Exchange) will seek to alleviate this problem by facilitating around-the-clock US equities trading,” the Financial Times cites 24 Exchange founder Dmitri Galinov as saying.

But not everyone is on board: Critics warn of potential volatility during low-volume overnight sessions, which could result in exaggerated price swings. “Retail investors trading during an overnight session will be trading in a market where there are few buyers and sellers, and where prices will be more volatile and less favorable than during normal hours,” Benjamin Schiffrin, consumer advocacy group Better Markets’s director of securities policy, said in a statement, Bloomberg reports.

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