The Securities and Exchange Commission is developing an innovation exemption to allow crypto platforms to offer tokenized versions of stocks like those of Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia under lighter rules. The plan, part of the agency's Project Crypto initiative, is expected within the next week. It aims to keep financial innovation in the United States while addressing investor protections.
Bloomberg Law reported on May 18 that the exemption would permit crypto-native platforms and some decentralized finance protocols to trade tokenized equities during a limited experimental period. This builds on earlier approvals, with Nasdaq's rules for tokenized equities approved in March 2026 and similar rules for the New York Stock Exchange approved in April 2026. Both exchanges now permit tokenized versions of select equities and ETFs to trade alongside traditional shares through the Depository Trust Company's tokenization pilot.
