Nasdaq (TIKER: NAQ.FWB) is open to launching a cryptocurrency exchange in the future one the regulatory environment matures.
"Certainly Nasdaq would consider becoming a crypto exchange over time," Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman told CNBC.
Friedman said regulation needs to be ironed out before the company adds an exchange.
"I believe that digital currencies will continue to persist, it's just a matter of how long it will take for that space to mature," Friedman said. "Once you look at it and say, 'do we want to provide a regulated market for this?' Certainly Nasdaq would consider it."
In the meantime, the Nasdaq CEO is less optimistic about ICOs.
"ICOs need to be regulated," she said. "The SEC is right that those are securities and need to be regulated as such."
Nasdaq is currently exploring deals with several virtual currency exchanges to provide market infrastructure technology for trading and clearing, as well as surveillance.
Nasdaq on Wednesday announced a surveillance deal with Gemini Trust Company to monitor cryptocurrency trading on its exchange for potential market manipulation and fraud.
By Siranush Ghazanchyan