TheBlock
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to publish an innovation exemption for tokenized stocks as early as this week, according to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter. The framework would let traditional institutions experiment with blockchain-based securities without working through a full registration process — a sandboxes-style carve-out that lets incumbents test the rails before the rulebook catches up.
The move lands on top of a year of tokenization approvals: in March, the SEC signed off on a Nasdaq rule change to support trading of tokenized shares; in April, it greenlit NYSE's parallel rule change, with NYSE now building a 24/7 onchain settlement platform alongside partner Securitize. Earlier in December the agency authorized DTCC to tokenize highly liquid assets on pre-approved blockchains under a three-year window. The SEC has been careful to stress that tokenized assets remain securities under federal law.
Why it matters
An innovation exemption is structurally different from a one-off rule approval. It gives the entire incumbency — broker-dealers, transfer agents, exchanges, custodians — a defined lane to ship tokenized products without waiting for a bespoke registration cycle. That compresses the gap between TradFi plumbing and onchain settlement in a way the Nasdaq and NYSE approvals did not: those cleared specific venues, this opens the door to anyone who can meet the carve-out's terms.
The SEC is also not walking away from the regulatory perimeter. Tokenized assets stay classified as securities, which means the disclosure, surveillance, and enforcement toolkit still applies. The exemption trades registration friction for compliance discipline — a deliberate middle path between the binary of "block everything" and "no rules at all."
Market impact
Tokenized securities carry structural advantages over legacy settlement: near-instant atomic settlement, reduced intermediary costs, and 24/7 trading instead of T+1 windows and fixed exchange hours.
Frequently asked questions
-
What is the SEC's innovation exemption for tokenized stocks?
It's a forthcoming framework, reported by Bloomberg to be publishing as early as this week, that lets traditional institutions experiment with blockchain-based securities without going through a full SEC registration process. Tokenized assets remain classified as securities under federal law.
-
Why does this differ from the Nasdaq and NYSE tokenization approvals?
The Nasdaq (March) and NYSE (April) rule changes cleared specific venues to support tokenized-share trading. An innovation exemption is broader — it opens a defined lane for any institution that meets the carve-out's terms, not just approved exchanges.
-
What infrastructure advantages do tokenized securities offer?
Near-instant atomic settlement, lower intermediary costs, and 24/7 trading — versus T+1 settlement windows and fixed exchange hours in legacy US equities plumbing.
-
How large could the tokenized assets market become?
Analysts cited by The Block expect tokenized assets to swell into the trillions over the next decade, with projections ranging from roughly $2 trillion to more than $10 trillion by 2030.
-
Which firms are already positioning for tokenized US equities?
NYSE is building a 24/7 onchain settlement platform with Securitize; DTCC was authorized in December to tokenize highly liquid assets on pre-approved blockchains under a three-year window; Nasdaq secured its rule change in March. The SEC has also approved the NYSE rule change for tokenized securities trading.
Crypto News
Altcoin Daily
CoinTelegraph
WatcherGuru
WuBlockchain