30 Days’ Notice to the Public Separates Filing from Trading Tokenized Stocks Under Conditional U.S. Exemption

Key Facts

Staff in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Trading and Markets explained how to apply the public notice requirement before certain platforms begin operating to trade tokenized national market system stocks in FAQs published on October 20, 2026. The requirement calls for a platform to post a notice on its website at least 30 calendar days before operations begin. The period is part of a temporary, conditional exemption issued by the SEC on September 17, and is not a new obligation imposed by the FAQs. The SEC said the FAQs express staff views and are "not a rule, regulation, or statement of the Commission." This means the clarification applies to platforms and activities covered by the exemption, not digital asset platforms generally.

The notice must be clear, concise, understandable, accurate and complete, and describe the platform’s finalized operations and access standards that are ready for production. The notice period does not begin on the basis of an incomplete operating plan: the guidance says the platform should publish the notice after establishing its operations and participant access standards and preparing them for implementation. The notice should also be updated later to keep disclosures current if details change. After publishing it, the platform must separately notify the SEC in writing of its intent to operate under the exemption within one business day. The conditions prohibit operations or trading in tokenized stocks before the public notice period expires, making advance notice a required step before launch.

A separate objection period for each stock and its issuer runs in parallel with the public notice period. A platform may include a stock in its public notice after sending a notice to the issuer, before the objection period ends, provided it states that the objection remains pending. If the period expires without a timely objection, the platform may make the stock available for trading. It must then update its public notice to state that the objection period has ended and identify the stocks covered under the order. If the issuer objects on time, the platform must disclose the objection in its updated notice and may not make that stock available for trading.

The exemption is limited to platforms that bring buyers and sellers together through one or more automated market maker liquidity pools and establish participant access standards for trading. The definition also excludes securities issued by a third party to provide synthetic exposure to an underlying stock, such as tokenized linked securities or tokenized securities swaps. Under the exemption’s conditions, tokenized national market system stocks must give holders the same rights and privileges as conventional stocks of the equivalent class. Trading in a tokenized stock must also be halted whenever trading in the underlying stock is halted on its primary listing exchange. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said when announcing the exemption that it allows some of these stocks to trade in an environment with restricted access while the SEC considers the need for additional steps.

The SEC published the names of entities that submitted written notice of their intent to operate under the exemption, including tZERO, OKX ATS, and Kivias, doing business as Perpetuals.com. The listed notices are dated September 23, October 4, and October 14, 2026, respectively. However, the SEC’s disclaimer says that an entity’s inclusion on the list does not mean it meets the definition of an eligible platform or the exemption’s conditions. Each entity remains responsible for complying with the notice and disclosure requirements and trading conditions before beginning operations. The list identifies entities that notified the SEC of their intent, while whether they meet the conditions remains a separate matter.

The September order describes the exemption as temporary and limited, with its term ending 5 years after publication. The SEC also requested public comments on potential changes to the exemption and next regulatory steps. It said practical experience and public input may help guide its future actions, including rulemaking. This places the current permission within a process in which the SEC is considering whether to take additional steps to facilitate stock trading on blockchains. Public comments and potential changes remain part of the process set out in the order, alongside platforms’ obligation to comply with the existing conditions during the exemption period.