SEC Hands Tokenized Stocks a Five-Year Permission Slip to Trade 24/7 📜

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued an innovation exemption allowing tokenized securities venues (TSVs) to facilitate trading of tokenized National Market System (NMS) stocks using automated market makers and liquidity pools, according to an SEC press release. The order grants conditional exemptive relief and runs for five years from the date of publication, during which the Commission has also invited public comment on possible modifications.

Under the relief, qualifying venues will be permitted to operate permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools to support onchain trading of tokenized equity securities, with the framework enabling near round-the-clock access to traditional U.S. equities markets through blockchain-based infrastructure. The Commission stated the order is intended to provide regulatory clarity while it continues to evaluate broader crypto policy through its proposed "Reg Crypto" framework.

The move comes shortly after the cloture vote on the CLARITY Act failed in the Senate. SEC Chair Paul Atkins previously said the crypto agenda would proceed regardless of the bill's outcome, reiterating the Commission's intent to deliver clarity through administrative action. The tokenized stock exemption is the latest step under that stated approach and adds a defined five-year window for compliant venues to build and operate tokenized equity trading systems.

The SEC's order sets out conditions for TSVs, including the use of innovative permissioned market structures, and opens a formal comment period on the relief, with the Commission noting it may amend the framework based on feedback received. No specific tickers were named in the exemption, and the order applies to venues meeting the stated conditions rather than to individual asset issuers.