SEC’s Atkins Pushes for U.S. Stocks to Move On-Chain With Blockchain

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said Tuesday that he wants U.S. stock trading to move onto blockchain networks, signaling a broader push to bring on-chain markets into traditional finance.

“I want the stock market to move on-chain,” Atkins said on Sept. 29. He said blockchain technology could change how stocks are traded and how ownership records are maintained.

The comments follow the SEC’s Sept. 17 approval of a temporary framework allowing certain venues to trade tokenized U.S. stocks through permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools.

SEC Opens Path for Tokenized Stocks

The SEC’s Innovation Exemption gives Tokenized Securities Venues temporary relief to trade tokenized National Market System stocks on-chain. The five-year exemption comes with conditions designed to protect investors and market integrity.

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Tokenized stocks must provide holders with the same rights as traditional shares, including dividends and voting rights. Issuers can also object when an unaffiliated party seeks to tokenize their stock.

Project Crypto Supports On-Chain Markets

The move follows Atkins’ Project Crypto initiative, which seeks to modernize securities rules for blockchain-based markets. The temporary framework allows the SEC to observe on-chain trading while considering longer-term rules.

Atkins said the agency is “not cementing today’s technology as the standard for tomorrow,” leaving room for the framework to evolve.

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