Real stocks are finally coming on blockchain. Here’s how the SEC wants it to work
The SEC is giving tokenized stocks a regulated U.S. pathway, while keeping trading volumes, access and issuer rights tightly controlled.
The SEC just dropped its long-awaited "innovation exemption," giving qualifying platforms a five-year window to operate markets for tokenized U.S. stocks without registering as full national securities exchanges.
Until now, a company that wanted to build a U.S. market for tokenized stocks would bring buyers and sellers together, and regulators could treat it like a traditional stock exchange. That meant potentially having to fit blockchain trading into rules designed for venues like the NYSE and Nasdaq.
The SEC will essentially allow firms to experiment with trading real stocks on public blockchains without forcing the technology to conform to the traditional exchange rulebook. And the word “real” is the big distinction here. The SEC is drawing a line between tokens that actually represent ownership of a stock and products that merely track its price.
While that may sound theoretical, the issue has already surfaced after a public spat this month, after AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron criticized Robinhood for offering AMC-linked stock tokens without the company’s involvement.