Gary Gensler spent years making sure this didn’t happen. Paul Atkins just said it’s weeks away.
Speaking to Crypto America, SEC Chair Atkins confirmed that the long-awaited tokenization innovation exemption is nearly ready. A regulatory sandbox that would let firms experiment with on-chain securities without full SEC registration.
His timeline: “soon, soon, soon. I think here in the next few weeks.”
What’s holding it up? The exemption is currently sitting with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the federal body inside the Office of Management and Budget that reviews agency actions before they go public. Once that clearance comes through, the SEC will seek public comment before shaping the final rules.
Commissioner Hester Peirce, who is overseeing the exemption’s design, has been clear that firms shouldn’t expect a wholesale rewrite of securities law.
The sandbox would enable limited trading of certain tokenized securities on blockchain – controlled experimentation, not a green light for everything.
That framing matters, because some in Congress aren’t convinced.
The same day Atkins made his comments, the House Financial Services Committee held a dedicated hearing titled “Tokenization and the Future of Securities: Modernizing Our Capital Markets.” The room agreed on one thing: tokenized securities are coming. Everything else was contested.
Rep. Brad Sherman raised concerns about a “two-tiered market where tokenized securities on blockchain platforms are exempted from core securities regulations.” Rep. Maxine Waters drew a straight line to 2008, questioning whether the technology benefits investors or just intermediaries.
Rep. Warren Davidson placed blame on the previous regime directly: “Gary Gensler wanted to prevent any kind of real progress on the Commission.”
Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger, who played a key role in CLARITY Act negotiations, told the committee that tokenization can strengthen U.S. capital markets, but only if the regulatory framework is built around how blockchain actually works, not how legacy systems do.
NYSE has already partnered with Securitize on a tokenized securities platform. The SEC approved Nasdaq’s tokenized securities pilot just last week – the first token-settled trades are expected by end of Q3 2026. The infrastructure is moving faster than the rules meant to govern it.
The SEC’s sandbox lets firms test blockchain-based securities trading with limited rules, enabling innovation while still protecting investors.
According to Paul Atkins, it could launch within weeks, pending final review and a public comment phase.
Major players like NYSE and Nasdaq are already building platforms, showing strong demand even before clear regulations are finalized.
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