SEC opens door to tokenized U.S. stock trading. Here’s who could benefit

The agency’s framework favors tokens that represent actual U.S. shares and carry the same rights as traditional stock, including dividends and voting rights.

That thesis is central to this new exemption. “This is extremely positive because it gives a way to trade real tokenized stocks,” Carlos Domingo, CEO of digital asset and real-world asset tokenization platform Securitize, told CoinDesk.

That leaves room for different tokenization models, ranging from issuer-sponsored projects to custodial structures, while excluding synthetic products that only provide price exposure. Meaning it could potentially favor firms working directly with issuers, custodial models that preserve full shareholder rights and transfer agents over platforms that simply create stock-linked products.

The agency also opens another door on the trading side.