Tokenised securities exemption slips again amid Wall Street objections
The securities regulator has once more held back the 'innovation exemption' meant to let tokenised stock trading proceed under relaxed conditions.
WASHINGTON —
A long-trailed exemption that would let firms trade tokenised securities without the full weight of existing market-structure rules has been delayed again, according to people briefed on the discussions, after objections from incumbent brokerages and reservations inside the executive branch.
The concept is narrow but consequential: a time-limited relief that would allow settlement of equity-like instruments on public blockchains, on the theory that the technology cannot be evaluated without being used. Traditional trading venues have argued that relief of that kind would create a second market with weaker obligations around best execution, surveillance and recordkeeping.
Supporters counter that the current rules assume intermediaries the technology removes, and that firms cannot demonstrate compliance with obligations written for a different plumbing. Several have applied for individual relief rather than wait for a general exemption.
The delay lands alongside the postponement of the broader crypto offering rules, leaving two of the agency's signature digital-asset initiatives without a date. Staff have continued to meet applicants, and one person familiar with the schedule said a narrower version covering only institutional participants remains under consideration.