SEC grants five-year 'innovation exemption' to open US markets to tokenised stock trading

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

America's financial regulator has issued a sweeping five-year exemption from securities laws, clearing the path for tokenised stock trading to operate legally in the United States for the first time. The Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called 'innovation exemption' covers tokenised NMS stocks and is accompanied by a request for public comment, signalling the move is as much a live experiment as a regulatory green light. The decision is expected to accelerate a technology that converts traditional share ownership into blockchain-based digital tokens, potentially transforming how equities are bought and sold.

The SEC framed the exemption explicitly as a sandbox, giving the industry five years to prove tokenised trading can work safely within markets.

Blockchain-based stock trading has long been stalled by regulatory uncertainty — the exemption removes the biggest legal barrier that has kept major players on the sidelines.

The move marks one of the most significant shifts in US securities regulation in years, with the SEC inviting industry feedback on how the framework should evolve.