NEW YORK, June 17 U.S. equity markets face a potential shakeup as the Securities and Exchange Commission readies a new policy that would allow crypto companies to offer blockchain-based stocks, analysts and lawyers said.
The crypto industry says tokenized stocks — blockchain-based instruments that track traditional equities — could revolutionize stock markets by allowing shares to be traded 24/7 and settled instantly, boosting liquidity and reducing transaction costs
Crypto industry insiders expect President Donald Trump’s SEC chair, Paul Atkins, to unveil an “innovation exemption” soon. Atkins has said this would allow companies to experiment with new digital asset business models without having to comply with all of the SEC’s disclosure and investor-protection rules. Most notably, the exemption is expected to allow firms to offer trading in tokenized versions of existing U.S. stocks.
CRYPTO EXCHANGES READY TOKENIZED STOCKS Prominent crypto players including Coinbase have signaled that they plan to launch tokenized stocks in the United States when the rules allow. Robinhood, Kraken and several other crypto exchanges already offer tokenized stocks overseas, while Coinbase on Tuesday announced it would soon launch such products outside the U.S. While Atkins has previously said the innovation exemption will be temporary and limited, over the long term it could pave the way for major structural changes to equities markets, bringing such crypto upstarts into direct competition with traditional brokerages like Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade and Charles Schwab, said analysts and attorneys.