The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved tokenized stocks trading in a move indicating that the regulator will push ahead with rulemaking despite the Clarity Act not moving forward.
Wall Street’s top regulator said Thursday that it was offering a five-year exemption to platforms that facilitate trading of tokenized stocks. Major crypto companies have long wanted to get such assets on the blockchain.
Lawmakers blocked the Clarity Act in a procedural vote on Tuesday. Regulators had said before the vote that regardless of whether the landmark legislation passed, they’d still start regulating the crypto industry.
“Congress was unsuccessful in advancing the Clarity Act despite the tireless efforts of many,” SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said in a statement.
“So today, the Securities and Exchange Commission is taking a significant step forward, within its statutory authority, to bring America’s capital markets into the digital age by facilitating onchain trading of certain tokenized stocks.”
Jamie Selway, Director of the SEC Division of Trading and Markets, added: “Today’s approval of exemptive relief for on-chain secondary trading on a TSV–known as the ‘Innovation Exemption’–marks an important milestone for the Commission’s work to open our capital markets for tokenized securities.”
The SEC’s move is the latest by regulators pushing ahead despite major crypto legislation stalling. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Mike Selig on Wednesday said that the top regulator would use its powers to advance crypto legislation despite the Clarity Act being blocked.
The Clarity Act aims to formally divide oversight between regulators, distinguishing which digital assets are securities, commodities or stablecoins.
President Donald Trump last month urged lawmakers to pass it but senators mostly voted against advancing the legislation — 49 for and 50 against — that the digital asset industry has long called for.
Republicans for months have accused Democrats of deliberately holding back the bill. Some lawmakers had issues with Trump’s family making money from crypto ventures. Trump and the White House have always denied any conflicts of interest.
