Nasdaq &#39;would consider&#39; creating a crypto exchange

Nasdaq could become a cryptocurrency exchange “over time”, according to CEO Adena Friedman, and is already supporting existing crypto exchanges. She said regulation would need to be ironed out before Nasdaq made its move and that she was positive about the future of digital assets, but Friedman was less optimistic about initial coin offerings which she said should be regulated as securities. Nasdaq is supporting other exchanges already and has signed a deal with the Gemini exchange, backed by the Winklevoss twins, in which Gemini wins access to Nasdaq’s surveillance technology. It also has links with blockchain start-up Chain.

Once the space matures, Nasdaq is open to becoming a platform for trading cryptocurrencies like bitcoin , according to the company's CEO.

"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."

In the meantime, the Nasdaq is supporting existing cryptoexchanges.

On Wednesday, the company announced a collaboration with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, founded by early bitcoin investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. The deal gives Gemini access to Nasdaq's surveillance technology to help make sure the platform provides a fair and "rules-based marketplace," for their own participants, Gemini CEO Tyler Winklevoss said in a statement.

While Friedman was optimistic about the future of cryptocurrencies she was less so on the fundraising process known as an initial coin offering, or ICO.