"Certainly Nasdaq would consider becoming a crypto exchange over time," Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman told CNBC's Squawk Box Wednesday. "If we do look at it and say 'it's time, people are ready for a more regulated market,' for something that provides a fair experience for investors."
A key roadblock for the Nasdaq and other institutional investors is regulation, which Friedman said needs to be ironed out before the company would add an exchange. But she was bullish on the future of digital assets.
"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."