SEC Chair Says Tokenization Technology Could Enable 24/7 Stock Trading

With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving a temporary conditional exemption allowing limited trading of tokenized U.S. stocks in on-chain environments, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said, 'U.S. capital markets are moving toward expanding 24-hour trading. Tokenization technology has the potential to help implement 24-hour trading in the U.S. stock market.'

He added that tokenization could enable real-time inventory management for securities firms, improving trade efficiency and reducing settlement failures while also mitigating risks of naked short selling. The ultimate goal is to eliminate such short-selling threats entirely. Atkins also instructed SEC staff to review necessary measures that balance market growth-friendly conditions with protections against harmful market practices.