U.S. SEC Floats Innovation Exemption for Tokenized Stock Trading

CoinDesk, May 19 — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing an "innovation exemption" that could permit tokenized stock trading. In ETF markets, Bitcoin ETFs posted a one-day net outflow of $648 million, prompting analysts to flag softer demand. BlackRock's Ethereum ETF recorded a net outflow of 26,269 ETH on May 18, while trading volume reached $500 million. Separately, spot ETFs tied to SOL and XRP saw net inflows. On corporate and protocol developments, Michael Saylor bought $2 billion worth of Bitcoin. Echo Protocol disclosed a $76 million EBTC minting vulnerability. Bitcoin mining firms are increasingly pivoting toward powering AI infrastructure, according to Bernstein. Swan Bitcoin is facing nearly $1 billion in litigation linked to Prime Trust's bankruptcy. Bloomberg reported a sharp increase in crypto industry security spending. Citi warned that Bitcoin faces long-term quantum-computing risks, estimating that 6.9 million BTC are already vulnerable.