SEC Opens Door to Onchain Stock Trading With New ‘Innovation Exemption’

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has introduced an “Innovation Exemption” that’s designed to facilitate secondary trading of tokenized stocks on blockchain-based protocols.

Under the order, which was issued on September 17, Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs) can receive temporary, conditional relief from being classified as exchanges under the Securities Exchange Act. The venues will be able to facilitate trading of tokenized National Market System stocks through permissioned AMMs (Automated Market Makers) and liquidity pools.

However, it’s important to note that there are a few safeguards that come in place with the exemption. Tokenized shares must provide holders with the same rights as the equivalent traditional stock, while trading volumes and the number of available securities will be limited.

Smart contracts used by TSVs must also be publicly auditable and deployed on public, permissionless blockchains. Trading has to halt whenever the underlying stock is suspended on its primary exchange.

The SEC also granted conditional relief from dealer registration requirements to certain liquidity providers who supply tokenized stocks to these pools.

Speaking on the matter was SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, who said:

“The Innovation Exemption, while temporary, would allow TSVs to trade tokenized NMS stock in a permissioned environment today while the Commission considers the need for additional action to facilitate onchain trading. As we take this important first step, we invite public comment on all aspects of the Innovation Exemption to help inform the Commission as it considers further changes.”