SEC weighs rule change that could let crypto offer tokenized stocks

If the Securities and Exchange Commission clears the way for tokenized stocks, the biggest change may not be that shares move onto blockchains. The bigger story is whether trading, custody, settlement and investor protections are rewritten around crypto platforms instead of Wall Street’s established plumbing.

Paul Atkins is expected to unveil an “innovation exemption” that would let digital-asset firms test new business models without complying with every SEC disclosure and investor-protection rule. For tokenized versions of U.S. stocks, that could create a new channel for trading traditional securities through crypto venues, with promoters arguing that shares could trade around the clock, settle instantly and cost less to move.

The industry is already positioning for that outcome. Coinbase says it plans to launch Coinbase Tokenize, its institutional platform for issuing, trading and managing tokenized assets, and has described tokenized stocks as enabling 24/7 trading, onchain utility and instant payments. Robinhood and Kraken already offer similar products overseas, while market-size estimates vary sharply: one measure cited in the story put the tokenized-stock market for retail investors above $6.4 billion, while CoinGecko’s tokenized-stock category shows a market cap of about $1.21 billion.

The regulatory path is not starting from scratch. Nasdaq filed a proposed rule change on January 27, 2026, to enable trading of securities in tokenized form, saying such securities would be fungible with traditional shares and, if equivalent, could trade on the same order book. The filing also said trades handled by the Depository Trust Company would continue to settle on a T+1 basis, even in tokenized form. The SEC record also points to a December 11, 2025 DTC pilot tied to tokenized securities, underscoring that the market is already pushing into the agency’s machinery.

That push has triggered a familiar split on Wall Street. SIFMA and the Healthy Markets Association have urged the SEC to preserve the same investor-protection and market-integrity safeguards that apply to traditional securities, warning that risk could migrate outside regulated exchanges if crypto firms handle execution and clearing without full oversight. Atkins has signaled a more open posture this year, including a March 17 speech titled Regulation Crypto Assets: A Token Safe Harbor and a draft 2026 to 2030 strategic plan that emphasizes clearer crypto rules and modernization. If the SEC embraces tokenized stocks, the test will be whether the change fixes real inefficiencies in market plumbing, or simply moves old risks into new wrappers.