The U.S. SEC's innovation exemption for tokenized stocks will see its first trading platforms in Q4 2026.

Huoxing Finance reports that on September 22, Taylor Lindman, Chief Legal Counsel of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, stated that the first tokenized stock trading platforms under the SEC’s “Innovation Exemption” could begin preparing and submitting related notices as early as the fourth quarter of 2026. In an interview with Crypto In America, Lindman said that relevant companies are expected to issue operational plan notices in the coming months, with the first applications potentially appearing “at some point next quarter.” Last week, the SEC introduced a five-year conditional exemption allowing eligible platforms to trade tokenized versions of U.S. stocks on public blockchains via automated market makers (AMMs) and liquidity pools. Lindman noted that such platforms are closer to “on-chain finance” than true DeFi, as they still require a clearly defined operating entity and assume compliance responsibilities. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stated that the current limits on the number of tradable stocks and trading volume are sufficient to support commercial operations, not merely technical testing; should these limits become barriers to development in the future, the SEC may revisit and adjust them. Additionally, the exemption requires platforms to provide a 30-day objection period to the relevant publicly traded companies before offering tokenized shares issued by third parties. Peirce expressed her expectation that issuers overall will maintain strong interest in the tokenized stock market.