The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order granting temporary, conditional exemptive relief to what it calls Tokenized Securities Venues, or TSVs, from the definition of “exchange” under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, according to an SEC press release. The relief is meant to let these venues facilitate trading in tokenized National Market System (NMS) stocks. The agency paired the order with a request for public comment.

CoinDesk described the measure as a “long-awaited” innovation exemption that crypto and traditional finance participants had anticipated. The Block reported that the SEC framed the exemption as an effort to “bring America’s capital markets into the digital age,” and positioned it as a response after the Senate failed to advance crypto-related legislation, according to The Block.

The order does not eliminate securities-law obligations for tokenized stock trading but instead carves out temporary relief from the standard exchange registration definition, per the SEC’s release. The request for comment signals the agency intends to gather industry feedback before any permanent framework is set.

Sources: SEC Press Releases, CoinDesk, The Block

This article is for information only and is not financial advice.