The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday unveiled a five-year “Innovation Exemption” that lets trading platforms offer blockchain-based, or “tokenized,” versions of publicly traded U.S. stocks and other securities — a major step toward folding digital assets into traditional markets, Reuters and CNBC reported.
Platforms that facilitate tokenized-stock trading get temporary relief from many of the rules that apply to exchanges like the Nasdaq and NYSE. Liquidity providers get a parallel five-year break from dealer registration. The SEC said the exemption is needed because platforms may otherwise face “substantial challenges” complying with federal securities laws without burdensome business-model changes.
Key guardrails: stock tokens must give holders the same rights as traditional shares — including dividends and voting — and platforms must notify issuers and wait 30 days. If a company objects, the venue cannot list that tokenized stock. “Synthetic” tokens that only mimic stock exposure via derivatives are barred. SEC Chair Paul Atkins called the move a way to let responsible innovation take root while protecting investors. Coinbase, Robinhood, Kraken and others already offer tokenized stocks overseas; the U.S. path opens after the Senate failed days earlier to advance Trump-backed crypto market-structure legislation known as the Clarity Act.
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