{"id":13395,"date":"2026-09-17T21:34:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T21:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=13395"},"modified":"2026-09-17T21:34:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T21:34:39","slug":"after-congress-killed-its-landmark-crypto-bill-the-sec-unlocked-the-77-trillion-us-stock-market-through-tokenization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=13395","title":{"rendered":"After Congress killed its landmark crypto bill, the SEC unlocked the $77 trillion US stock market through tokenization"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opened a five-year pathway for regulated US stocks to trade on blockchain-native venues.<\/p>\n

The Innovation Exemption came two days after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, a broad crypto market-structure bill that sought to establish statutory rules for digital assets and clarify regulatory responsibilities. The procedural vote failed 49-50, short of the 60 votes needed to move it forward.<\/p>\n

That failure left the crypto industry without a comprehensive market-structure framework and put greater weight on what regulators can do under existing law.<\/p>\n

SEC Chair Paul Atkins explicitly tied the Sept. 17 action to the stalled legislation, saying the agency was moving \u201cwithin its statutory authority\u201d to facilitate on-chain trading of certain tokenized stocks.<\/p>\n

This move opens the $77 trillion US stock market to crypto-style trading. However, the decision addresses a narrower question of how regulated stocks can trade through blockchain infrastructure. It also pushes US policy closer to a market already developing offshore, where crypto companies are offering tokenized equities that can move beyond conventional exchange hours.<\/p>\n

SEC gives on-chain venues a five-year test<\/h2>\n

The exemption creates a framework for Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs) that bring buyers and sellers together through permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools.<\/p>\n

Qualifying venues receive temporary relief from being treated as exchanges under the Securities Exchange Act, while certain liquidity providers using their own capital can receive related relief from dealer-registration requirements. The exemptions expire after five years, giving the SEC a window to collect trading data before deciding what a permanent framework should look like.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Mark Uyeda described the structure as deliberately constrained. The framework includes symbol and volume caps, along with requirements covering transaction transparency, trading halts, recordkeeping, and technology safeguards. Venues must also publish information including prices, trade sizes, timestamps, pool addresses and daily trading volumes.<\/p>\n

The move coincided with an SEC roundtable on preparations for 24-hour US equity trading, reflecting a broader shift toward markets that operate beyond the traditional session.<\/p>\n

Atkins said economic and corporate events no longer occur neatly within market hours and investors increasingly want the ability to adjust positions when news breaks. He also pointed to tokenization as a potential tool for real-time inventory management, which could improve efficiency and reduce settlement failures.<\/p>\n

Uyeda has similarly argued that tokenization could reduce reliance on intermediaries, streamline transaction lifecycles and lower operational costs, while requiring securities protections to carry over into on-chain markets.<\/p>\n

The regulatory opening immediately attracted interest from companies that have spent the past year building tokenized-equity businesses abroad.<\/p>\n

Robinhood Crypto General Manager Johann Kerbrat said the exemption signals that tokenization is ready to come to the US.<\/p>\n

He said:<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is a major step by the agency and will allow liquid tokenized securities markets to develop onshore. Smart regulation accelerates innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Already, several US crypto firms, including Robinhood, Kraken and Coinbase, offer tokenized US equity products to customers in overseas markets.<\/p>\n

Tokenized stocks find trading before financial utility<\/h2>\n

Those offshore markets show that one of tokenization\u2019s most promoted benefits, continuous access to equities, is already attracting meaningful activity.<\/p>\n

Token Terminal data show tokenized stocks reached a record $3.2 billion in market capitalization, up 1,219.3% over the past year. The products generated $15.75 billion in decentralized-exchange trading volume over the past 30 days, including $2.95 billion on weekends, when traditional US exchanges are closed.<\/p>\n

\"Tokenized\"Tokenized
Tokenized-stock market capitalization reached $3.2 billion, led by BNB Chain, Ethereum and Solana, after rising 1,219.3% over the past year. Source: Token Terminal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Turnover increased 4.4-fold in three weeks, from $360 million to $1.6 billion per weekend, reinforcing the case that investors are using tokenized equities partly to trade outside conventional market hours.<\/p>\n