SEC Puts Off Tokenized U.S. Stock \u0022Innovation Exemption\u0022 as Regulators Weigh Exchange Pushback

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed the rollout of an \u0022innovation exemption\u0022 framework that could open the door to broader issuance and trading of tokenized U.S. stocks, Bloomberg reported, as cited by CoinDesk. The SEC had been expected to unveil the initiative as soon as this week, but is now reviewing feedback from traditional exchanges and other market participants. The proposed exemption is tied to \u0022Project Crypto,\u0022 an effort led by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins that aims to ease certain restrictions affecting crypto businesses. Regulators have previously weighed allowing third parties to issue and trade tokenized versions of U.S. equities without direct authorization from the public companies behind those shares. Traditional exchanges have pushed back on the idea. Recent discussions between the SEC, exchange representatives and other market participants focused on investor protection risks and the possibility that crypto platforms could receive regulatory advantages not available in conventional securities markets. The World Federation of Exchanges warned in a November 2025 letter that clarifying the legal status of tokenized stocks before a full compliance framework is in place could harm U.S. market functioning. Its members include Nasdaq, Cboe and CME Group. Two routes for bringing onchain technology into U.S. equities are now taking shape. One approach, backed by traditional exchanges, would tokenize within the existing market structure. The other would let cryptonative platforms build a parallel tokenized trading venue outside today\u0027s framework. Nasdaq received SEC approval in March 2026 to move forward with its tokenized securities program. Its model keeps trading within the exchange system while preserving full shareholder rights, using enterprise-grade blockchain technology from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). That approach still leaves room for a single stock to have multiple token versions. By contrast, if the SEC\u0027s proposed \u0022innovation exemption\u0022 ultimately moves ahead, it could allow multiple third parties to issue tokenized versions of the same stock and trade them on crypto markets. That structure could split liquidity for the same underlying asset across different issuers and trading venues. The SEC\u0027s delay underscores the agency\u0027s continuing debate over how to encourage innovation without undermining the integrity of existing securities markets. For crypto platforms, traditional exchanges and institutions positioning for tokenized securities, near-term regulatory signals remain a key focus.