The US Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed its anticipated tokenization “innovation exemption,” with industry sources indicating that details are unlikely to emerge in the near term. The commission also canceled a scheduled Friday open meeting that was expected to address parallel rulemaking for crypto-asset fundraising transactions under a proposed “Regulation Crypto Assets” framework.
The exemption, which would have eased regulatory hurdles for firms issuing and trading tokenized securities on blockchain infrastructure, has now missed multiple self-imposed deadlines after initially appearing poised for release in May.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the postponement stems in part from White House concerns that unilateral SEC action could disrupt ongoing Congressional negotiations over the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. The legislation, which includes tokenization provisions in Section 10505, remains subject to active compromise discussions among stakeholders.
Administration officials reportedly cautioned that proceeding risked complicating the broader legislative process, and the effort may remain paused until the bill’s trajectory becomes clearer. Additionally, SEC staff have raised internal questions about the agency’s legal authority to grant such broad relief, including whether adequate economic analysis and required procedural steps have been completed.
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) August 13, 2026
Scooplet: The @SECGov’s tokenization innovation exemption has been “further delayed,” with details expected to remain under wraps for the time being, per a source familiar with the matter.
Part of the reason, I’m told, could be that the tokenization section of the Clarity Act…
The delay also reflects sustained opposition from traditional financial institutions. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, whose membership includes major broker-dealers and investment banks, has emerged as a leading voice against the exemption. The organization’s concerns center on how blockchain-based trading venues would integrate with existing equity-market regulations, particularly broker obligations to achieve best execution for clients under Regulation NMS.
That framework, which links prices across exchanges through the Order Protection Rule, becomes significantly more complex when applied to decentralized venues or automated market makers where pricing and execution costs diverge from conventional models. The SEC proposed eliminating Rule 611 in June, a move widely viewed as easing the path for tokenized securities, yet SIFMA has maintained that substantial market-structure changes should proceed through formal rulemaking with public participation rather than through exemptions or no-action relief.
Despite these regulatory headwinds, institutional interest in tokenization continues to accelerate. Major exchanges including Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange have announced infrastructure initiatives for tokenized securities, while the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation recently processed its first live production trades involving tokenized assets.
Analysts at Citi have projected that the market for tokenized assets could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030. The SEC, under Chairman Paul Atkins, has publicly supported blockchain-based market modernization, though the path to implementation remains contested among policymakers, regulators, and industry participants.
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