SEC Set to Unveil Tokenized Stock 'Innovation Exemption' as DTCC, Nasdaq and NYSE Race to Build the Rails!

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing an "innovation exemption" that would allow trading platforms to offer digital versions of publicly traded securities under a lighter regulatory structure, Bloomberg Law reported Monday. The proposal could arrive as early as this week, marking one of the most concrete regulatory signals yet that Washington is ready to put tokenized equities on a formal legal footing.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins has been the architect of the shift. Speaking earlier this month, Atkins argued that existing securities rules were never designed for blockchain-based systems that collapse exchange, clearing and settlement into a single protocol — and that the agency should clarify the rules through rulemaking rather than enforcement. The framework would cover onchain trading systems, blockchain settlement infrastructure and crypto custody models.

Wall Street…