The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is developing a plan to allow blockchain-based trading of tokenized stocks, enabling investors to buy and sell digital representations of shares in publicly traded companies like Tesla and Nvidia on approved cryptocurrency exchanges. This initiative, still in early stages, would facilitate 24/7 trading and bypass traditional brokerages, offering greater flexibility and market access in a Web3-native environment.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins has endorsed tokenization as an innovation that should be advanced to improve financial market efficiency and reduce costs. The rollout is expected to occur quickly, with further details anticipated soon. Platforms such as Robinhood, Kraken, and Coinbase are already involved or seeking approval, while Nasdaq has requested SEC authorization to list tokenized securities.
Market data reveals that over $31 billion in assets have been tokenized, with equities comprising only about 2% of that total. However, the value of tokenized equities has nearly doubled in the past 100 days, signaling rapid adoption. Binance Research compares this growth to the early DeFi boom and estimates the market could exceed $1.3 trillion if just 1% of global equities move on-chain.
Despite pushback from traditional finance entities like Citadel Securities, which warn against regulatory arbitrage, the SEC's move reflects growing political pressure to adopt pro-crypto policies and integrate digital assets into mainstream finance.
