The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a Nasdaq rule change permitting the trading of tokenized stocks and securities on the exchange, marking a significant regulatory milestone for real-world asset (RWA) integration into traditional markets.
The approval enables Nasdaq to facilitate transactions in blockchain-based representations of equities and other securities, bridging decentralized finance infrastructure with regulated equity markets. This decision reflects growing regulatory acceptance of tokenization as a legitimate mechanism for securities trading, provided it operates within established compliance frameworks overseen by the SEC.
The move carries implications for institutional adoption of blockchain technology in capital markets, potentially accelerating the development of settlement infrastructure for tokenized assets and reducing friction in securities transactions. By sanctioning trading on a major U.S. exchange, the SEC has signaled that tokenized securities—when properly regulated—represent a viable evolution of market structure rather than speculative innovation.