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SEC Delays Tokenized Stocks Innovation Exemption Amid Concerns: Bloomberg
TL;DR
The SEC has delayed its exemption for tokenized assets due to concerns about third-party issuers. This postponement affects the integration of blockchain in U.S. securities markets.
Key points
- SEC postponed exemption for tokenized assets
- Concerns about third-party issuers influenced the delay
- Commissioner Hester Peirce defended the proposal's limited scope
In brief
- The SEC postponed its anticipated exemption for tokenized assets following concerns about third-party issuers, per Bloomberg.
- SEC staff has been discussing the proposed framework with stock exchange officials and market participants.
- Commissioner Hester Peirce defended the proposal's limited scope, saying it would only cover digital representations of existing equities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has pulled back on plans to release a broad exemption allowing U.S. crypto firms to trade tokenized stocks and other tokenized assets, Bloomberg reported Friday. The move slows a high-profile effort to integrate blockchain into mainstream securities markets.
The agency's staff had been preparing to release the so-called innovation exemption as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. But the timeline has shifted as the SEC absorbs feedback from stock-exchange officials and other market participants who have held discussions with agency staff in recent days.
A central sticking point is a provision that would permit trading in third-party tokens—digital representations of company shares issued without the knowledge or approval of the underlying corporations.
That prospect has alarmed some former regulators and market experts, Bloomberg said, who warn it could create thorny problems for public companies trying to administer dividends and count shareholder votes as tokens proliferate across networks.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins had previously indicated the agency would soon debut its proposed innovation exemption that could function as a regulatory sandbox for on-chain equities. The delay affects companies preparing to launch tokenized asset projects under the anticipated framework.
Amid criticism of the delayed exemption, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce defended the proposal's narrow focus.
The framework was "limited in scope and would facilitate trading only of digital representations of the same underlying equity security that an investor could purchase in the secondary market today, not synthetics," Peirce wrote on X. She added that she appreciates public interest in the rule, but not the hyperbole surrounding it.
Q&A
Why did the SEC delay the tokenized stocks exemption?
The SEC delayed the exemption due to concerns raised about third-party issuers of tokenized assets.
What is the SEC's innovation exemption for tokenized assets?
The innovation exemption is a proposed framework that would allow U.S. crypto firms to trade tokenized stocks and other assets.
Who defended the limited scope of the SEC's proposal on tokenized stocks?
Commissioner Hester Peirce defended the proposal, stating it would only cover digital representations of existing equities.
