SEC Opens Path for Tokenized U.S. Stocks to Trade on Blockchain

Highlights:

• The SEC is allowing some tokenized U.S. stocks to trade on blockchain platforms for up to five years.
• Eligible platforms can offer tokenized stocks without registering as national securities exchanges under the new SEC exemption.
• Companies will get 30 days to object before a platform starts trading tokenized versions of their shares.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has introduced a new regulatory exemption that allows certain tokenized U.S. stocks to trade on blockchain-based platforms. The move creates a legal route for eligible firms to bring traditional equities onchain without registering their platforms as national securities exchanges.

The SEC introduced the “Innovation Exemption” on September 17, according to Crypto in America. The exemption takes effect immediately and can remain available for up to five years. It comes as the agency moves ahead with its tokenization plans following the Senate’s failure to advance the CLARITY Act earlier this week.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the agency is using its existing authority to support onchain trading of certain tokenized stocks. He described the exemption as a step toward bringing U.S. capital markets “into the digital age.”

🚨JUST IN: SEC Opens the Door to Wall Street Onchain With Innovation Exemption

The @SECGov has rolled out its long-awaited innovation exemption, providing a compliant pathway for tokenized U.S. equities to trade onchain.

All the details here. ⬇️https://t.co/Jxo3ynkIK5

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) September 17, 2026

Tokenized Stocks Can Trade Through Blockchain Platforms

Under the new framework, qualifying platforms called Tokenized Securities Venues, or TSVs, can support trading in tokenized versions of U.S.-listed stocks. These platforms may use automated market makers and liquidity pools running on public, permissionless blockchains. An automated market maker uses software and pools of assets to process trades instead of relying on a traditional order book.

TSVs will not have to register as national securities exchanges if they meet the SEC’s conditions. Some firms providing liquidity may also receive relief from dealer registration requirements. However, the exemption does not remove all controls. Access to each trading venue will still be permissioned. Users and liquidity providers must meet the platform’s eligibility requirements before participating. 

The SEC will also limit the number of stocks a venue can offer and how much of an individual stock’s daily trading volume can move through the platform.

SEC Excludes Synthetic Stock Tokens

The exemption applies to actual tokenized shares that provide investors with the same rights as traditional shares, including voting rights and dividends. It does not cover synthetic tokens that simply follow the price of a company’s stock without providing ownership rights. The SEC had already clarified in January that tokenized securities remain securities even when ownership records are maintained through crypto networks.

Third parties will also be allowed to tokenize shares without being directly connected to the company. However, the company whose shares are being tokenized can object. A TSV must notify the issuer before allowing those tokenized shares to trade. The company then has 30 days to object. If it does, the venue cannot offer the tokenized shares.

SEC Exemption Can Run for Five Years

The SEC’s new exemption is temporary and can remain in place for up to five years. Atkins had already shown support for bringing more traditional assets onto blockchain networks. He also backed the use of public blockchains and automated market makers in some areas of securities trading.

The new exemption gives firms a way to start offering tokenized stock trading under SEC conditions instead of waiting for a full regulatory framework.