The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is sharply easing rules on tokenized stocks to make it simpler to buy and sell listed shares in digital-asset form. The move comes just two days after the Clarity Act, a bill that would define the legal status of digital assets, failed to advance in Congress — and it effectively delivers an alternative policy, at least on a temporary basis. The change will allow U.S. stocks to be split into small fractions and traded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The SEC said on the 17th that it will exempt token stock venues, or TSVs, that meet certain conditions from rules applied to conventional securities exchanges for a period of five years, according to The Wall Street Journal. Industry participants expect Coinbase and Robinhood, which hold liquidity provider status, to qualify for the exemption. Both companies already distribute tokenized stocks in Europe and other overseas markets.
The SEC will apply the relief only to tokenized stocks that carry the same shareholder rights as ordinary shares, including dividends, voting rights and ownership. The scope covers tokenized stocks issued by third parties as well as those issued by listed companies themselves, a structure expected to become the mainstream form.
Tokenized stocks that merely track share-price movements without conferring shareholder rights are excluded. Only tokens based on existing listed shares qualify, while newly issued shares are not covered. The easing takes effect immediately, but token stock venues must file a disclosure with the SEC 30 days before beginning operations, meaning the first venues are expected to appear no earlier than next month.
Tokenized stocks are securities that transfer ownership and shareholder rights in listed shares onto blockchain tokens. Because they run on blockchain systems, they can be traded without regard to market hours and settled faster than on existing stock exchanges. A single share can also be divided into fractions as small as one-millionth. The SEC has been signaling this regulatory direction since May and, in drawing up the latest measure, added a safeguard allowing listed companies to exercise a veto.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced a similar easing on the same day. The CFTC said it would exempt software companies operating digital-asset wallet businesses from financial-firm registration requirements if they meet certain conditions.
The Donald Trump administration has been pushing the Clarity Act to spur growth in digital assets. After the bill failed a procedural vote in the Senate on the 15th, making enactment this year unlikely, the SEC and the CFTC appear to have moved to overhaul rules using their existing authority. Still, prices on tokenized venues could diverge from those in conventional securities markets, and conflict-of-interest concerns could arise because token stock venues, unlike ordinary securities exchanges, would handle token issuance, blockchain operations, liquidity provision and fee collection all at once.
Shares of digital-asset companies reacted immediately. Securitize, a tokenization specialist, jumped as much as 22% during the session on the 17th before closing 15% higher. Coinbase and Robinhood each rose more than 5%.
