The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed plans to release a broad exemption that would have allowed U.S. crypto firms to trade tokenized stocks and other tokenized assets, Bloomberg reported on Friday. This decision slows a significant effort to integrate blockchain technology into mainstream securities markets.
Delay Due to Feedback
According to sources familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the SEC staff had been preparing to release the “innovation exemption” as early as this week. However, the timeline has shifted as the SEC considers feedback from stock exchange officials and other market participants who have held discussions with agency staff in recent days.
Key Concerns
A primary point of contention is a provision that would permit trading in third-party tokens – digital representations of company shares issued without the knowledge or approval of the underlying corporations.
This prospect has raised concerns among some former regulators and market experts, Bloomberg noted, who warn it could create complex issues for public companies trying to manage dividends and count shareholder votes as tokens become more widespread across networks.
Commissioner’s Defense
SEC Chair Paul Atkins had previously indicated the agency would soon unveil its proposed innovation exemption, which could serve as a regulatory sandbox for on-chain equities. The delay impacts companies preparing to launch tokenized asset projects under the anticipated framework.
Amid criticism of the delayed exemption, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce defended the proposal’s limited scope.
“The framework was limited in scope and would facilitate trading only of digital representations of the same underlying equity security that an investor could purchase in the secondary market today, not synthetics,” Peirce wrote on X. She also acknowledged public interest in the rule, while criticizing the surrounding hyperbole.
Leave a Reply