A startup stock exchange has secured approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer extended trading hours, including a 23-hour session five days a week. 24X National Exchange, backed by Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures, will initially run trading sessions from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET, with plans to add overnight trading from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. once it meets certain data requirements. The new schedule will operate Sunday evening through Friday evening, with a one-hour break at 7 p.m.

The SEC’s approval marks a significant step for 24X, which aims to provide more opportunities for investors to respond to news outside regular U.S. market hours. “The SEC’s approval of our new exchange is a thrilling development that the 24X Team has been working toward for many years,” said Dmitri Galinov, CEO and founder of 24X. “Traders are most at-risk when the market is closed in their geographic location,” he added.

The approval comes amid growing interest in after-hours trading, which has surged since the pandemic. Firms like Robinhood Markets Inc. and Interactive Brokers have already offered 24-hour trading on alternative venues such as Blue Ocean’s trading system.

However, the move has sparked criticism, with some market participants warning about the risks posed by reduced liquidity during off-hours. Consumer advocacy group Better Markets expressed concern that overnight trading could harm investors. “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 favourable than during normal hours,” said Benjamin Schiffrin, the group’s director of securities policy. “This means that, during overnight sessions, retail investors will only get the best prices in a bad market, thereby losing money if they had traded during normal business hours.”

The SEC’s approval follows a recent filing from the New York Stock Exchange, which seeks to extend its trading hours to 22 hours a day.