SEC Delays Tokenized Stock Plan Amid Pushback from Exchanges

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its highly anticipated 'innovation exemption' for tokenized stocks, pushing back the release of the framework as it weighs input from traditional stock exchanges and other market participants wary of the plan's sweeping implications.

The SEC was preparing to release the so-called innovation exemption as soon as this week under Chair Paul Atkins' 'Project Crypto' initiative, which aims to relax existing crypto restrictions in line with the Trump administration's pro-crypto agenda.

The framework would create a new regulatory pathway allowing digital tokens linked to publicly traded company shares to trade on decentralized crypto platforms, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, bypassing the constraints of traditional stock exchanges.