The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing a regulatory route that could allow approved platforms to trade tokenised US stocks around the clock, including at weekends and on public holidays.
The regulator is developing an “innovation exemption” that would give selected firms temporary permission to test tokenised securities under defined conditions while permanent rules are considered.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins has backed the use of exemptive powers to move more financial activity onto blockchain networks, while keeping tokenised stocks within the scope of federal securities regulation. If approved, eligible platforms could offer digital versions of US-listed shares and process trades outside the normal hours of traditional exchanges.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said in March that staff were working on an exemption to enable “limited trading of certain tokenized securities.” She said the proposed measure would be narrower than the blanket exemption considered by the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee.
The SEC has not published a final framework, eligibility requirements or launch date. Investors should therefore not assume that tokenised versions of all US stocks will soon be available for continuous trading.
Traditional US stock markets normally operate between 9:30 am and 4 pm Eastern time on business days. Registered venues and brokers may offer additional sessions, but blockchain-based systems can process transfers continuously, potentially allowing eligible securities to change hands overnight, at weekends and during public holidays.
According to reporting on the SEC’s plans, the exemption could establish a defined testing route for regulated platforms seeking to run 24-hour markets in tokenised shares. The commission would still have to determine which companies could participate, what activities they could carry out and which existing regulations would continue to apply.
For US investors, round-the-clock trading could provide access outside the conventional market day. However, the SEC would need to address how brokers meet best-execution obligations, provide disclosures and route orders when the underlying share market is closed. It would also need to consider how prices are established across blockchain venues and traditional exchanges.
The nature of the token would be central to investor protection. An issuer-backed token could represent the same security through a different ownership system. By contrast, a product created by an unrelated third party might simply follow a stock’s price or provide a contractual claim against the platform.
In July, two transfer-agent groups asked the SEC to distinguish issuer-backed shares from unaffiliated tokens. As previously reported by crypto.news, the groups said some third-party structures might not provide buyers with direct ownership, voting rights or the same legal entitlement to dividends as registered shareholders.
The SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee expressed similar concerns in a recommendation issued in March. Its members opposed a blanket exemption and called for clear ownership disclosures, oversight of intermediaries and safeguards intended to provide investors with fair execution terms.
Putting a stock on a blockchain does not alter its legal status in the United States. In a speech in November 2025, Atkins said economic reality, rather than the label attached to a token, determines how federal securities laws apply.
A token representing a public company share would therefore remain a security. Depending on the structure, companies involved in issuing, trading, custody or settlement could face rules covering broker-dealer registration, exchanges or alternative trading systems, transfer-agent records and clearing.
Custody is another unresolved issue. The blockchain token and the underlying share would need to remain properly connected. Where a third party holds conventional stock and issues a separate token against it, regulators would have to determine how buyers could verify the backing and recover their assets if the issuer or custodian failed.
Market surveillance would also require specific controls. The SEC would need to establish how participating venues identify manipulation, share trading data and oversee transactions taking place while the main US exchanges are closed. It may also have to consider how blockchain settlement would work alongside the Depository Trust Company’s existing custody and post-trade systems.
The proposed exemption has not changed current requirements. On 14 August, the SEC cancelled an open meeting that had been scheduled to consider a tailored offering regime for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets, citing an unforeseen scheduling issue.
That cancellation was not a vote on blanket approval for 24/7 tokenised stock trading. The SEC’s public notice said the meeting concerned registration and offering rules for certain crypto-related investment contracts. The proposed tokenised-securities exemption remains a separate policy project under development.
Some parts of the US market have already received limited permission to test tokenised securities. In December 2025, SEC staff issued a no-action letter allowing the Depository Trust Company to operate a defined tokenisation service for three years under specified conditions.
The eligible assets include Russell 1000 stocks, major index exchange-traded funds and US Treasury securities. A no-action letter means SEC staff would not recommend enforcement on the facts presented, but it does not establish a permanent industry rule or permit every company to provide a similar service.
DTCC said in an August project update that it had brought together more than 100 members and partners for its tokenisation programme. Participants include traditional financial institutions and blockchain companies testing tokenised equities, Treasuries, collateral, securities lending and margin processes.
Earlier production tests examined whether regulated assets could move between blockchain networks while remaining linked to established custody and ownership records. DTC, the depository subsidiary of DTCC, provides custody and asset servicing for more than $114tn in securities. That figure covers its entire business and does not represent the value due to be tokenised.
Nasdaq has also begun testing regulated blockchain-based trading. The SEC approved its pilot in March 2026, allowing selected participants to trade certain tokenised equities alongside conventional shares.
Under Nasdaq’s model, tokenised and traditional versions would have the same rights and pricing. The pilot covers eligible Russell 1000 securities and major index-linked ETFs, keeping the products within the existing national market system rather than creating separate stock-tracking tokens.
NYSE has separately filed rule changes relating to tokenised securities. SEC records show that the exchange submitted amendments in April to allow securities to trade in tokenised form, giving the commission another regulated-market model to assess.
The SEC is also considering changes to Regulation NMS, the group of rules governing how US equity orders move between trading venues. The proposed amendments include withdrawing Rule 611 and Rule 610(e), which cover order protection and access fees within the national market system.
Ondo Finance backed the proposed withdrawal in an 11 August letter to SEC Secretary Vanessa Countryman. The company said existing rules favour continuous order books and could restrict alternative execution systems using different trading models.
Rule 611 generally requires trading centres to prevent transactions being completed at prices worse than protected quotations displayed elsewhere. Ondo told the commission that removing the rule could create more scope for auction-based, blockchain-based and other execution systems to operate alongside conventional order books.
The company also asked the SEC to revise elements of its economic analysis before the amendments were adopted. Ondo’s submission was filed under Release No. 34-105655 and File No. S7-2026-20 as part of the commission’s public consultation process.
