SEC move could open door to tokenized U.S. stocks

U.S. equity markets could be headed for a structural split: one version of a stock traded through brokers, clearinghouses and exchanges, and another wrapped in a blockchain token that can move around the clock. If the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opens that door, the change would reach far beyond crypto and into custody, settlement and the basic plumbing of public markets.

The SEC has already started drawing boundaries. On January 28, 2026, staff issued a joint statement saying tokenized securities remain subject to federal securities laws and distinguishing issuer-sponsored tokenized securities from third-party versions. In December 2025, staff also granted The Depository Trust Company no-action relief for a limited, voluntary, three-year tokenization pilot tied to tokenized security entitlements. The agency’s Investor Advisory Committee discussed tokenization of equity securities on March 12, 2026, and its market-structure subcommittee has recommended defining tokenized equity securities and testing the investor-protection issues they raise.

Nasdaq Stock Market LLC has taken the next step by filing a proposed rule change to let securities trade in tokenized form during the DTC pilot. That filing matters because it shows the question is already moving through the market-structure process, where exchange rules, clearing and settlement standards, and broker obligations are decided, not just through the crypto policy debate. Supporters say tokenized stocks could speed settlement, cut transaction costs and allow trading 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

That promise is exactly why Wall Street should care. If tokenized shares sit alongside conventional brokerage accounts, the market could end up with two parallel ways to represent the same company. That would change who intermediates trades, how assets are held, and which safeguards apply when products are launched unevenly across platforms. Traditional market participants have warned that new rails could also create operational risks and weaken protections if they do not match the rules that govern existing exchanges and brokers.

The market is already scaling before the rulemaking is finished. Reuters said the tokenized public stocks market geared toward retail investors had grown rapidly since the end of 2024, when it was worth just a few million dollars, according to RWA.xyz. That kind of growth suggests the fight is no longer about whether tokenized equities can exist, but whether the SEC will let them become a second system for moving U.S. stocks.