Wednesday, Nov 05, 2025 • Brian Lopez : Contact

A new financial powerhouse could soon emerge in the heart of Texas. The Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE), based in Dallas, has received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to operate as a national exchange—positioning it to compete with the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Backed by more than $160 million from major investment firms like BlackRock and Citadel Securities, TXSE plans to begin listing stocks by late 2026.

To explain what this means for businesses, investors and the Texas economy, The University of Texas at Arlington’s Sriram Villupuram, associate professor of finance, shares his insight. Villupuram, whose research focuses on corporate finance and capital markets, discusses how TXSE could reshape the financial landscape and the challenges it may face.

What exactly is the Texas Stock Exchange, and how does it differ from the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq?

Villupuram: The Texas Stock Exchange is a national securities exchange like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq, and will compete with those exchanges. Both the NYSE and the Nasdaq have stringent listing requirements for prospective companies to list on their exchanges. In contrast, the Texas Stock Exchange is expected to facilitate the listing of relatively smaller companies.

Why is Texas launching its own exchange now?

Villupuram: Texas has always been viewed as business-friendly, and it is expected to experience strong economic growth over the next several years. The growth is expected to bring new businesses, potentially evolving to become publicly traded companies. Any new or existing business would need capital to grow. Having a stock exchange in Texas can serve as a powerful indicator of capital availability and of Texas's aspiration to be a financial hub.

How will TXSE operate once it launches?

Villupuram: The Texas Stock Exchange is expected to operate as an electronic marketplace similar to Nasdaq, where a computer system matches bids from buyers and asking prices from sellers to facilitate transactions.

What will determine whether TXSE succeeds or fails?

Villupuram: A stock exchange is a marketplace that thrives on transaction volume. Having said that, the exchange will have to attract a sufficient number of companies to list and attract trading volume in their stocks. The minimum number of listed companies that make an exchange successful primarily depends on their capital structure.

How could TXSE affect Texas’ economy and job market?

Villupuram: New ideas tend to be incubated geographically closer to their sources of capital. The exchange could make Texas a hub for investor capital to incubate new ideas and further help maintain the strong economic growth we have witnessed over the years. With the expected growth, Texans would have access to more jobs and other economic opportunities.

Should the average investor or business owner care about this development?

Villupuram: Average investors may be unaware of which exchange their stock transactions are processed through. But prospective business owners, especially in the financial services industry, will view this as a positive development nationwide.

About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)

Celebrating its 130^th anniversary in 2025, The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of the thriving Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. With a student body of over 42,700, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation’s top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 280,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.