SEC, tokenized securities on NASDAQ

The Securities and Exchange Commission did approve Nasdaq’s rule change for tokenized securities on March 18, 2026, but only inside a limited pilot tied to the Depository Trust Company. (federalregister.gov) A tokenized security is a blockchain-based version of a stock or exchange-traded product, recorded on a distributed ledger instead of only on a traditional book-entry system. Nasdaq filed for that structure on September 8, 2025, and the proposal was published for comment on September 22, 2025. (nasdaq.com) (sec.gov) Under the approved rule, eligible Nasdaq members can trade tokenized versions of certain equities and exchange-traded products while the Depository Trust Company runs its pilot. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s order says those trades would still settle on a T+1 basis and remain subject to Nasdaq and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority surveillance. (sec.gov) The pilot does not create a separate crypto stock market. Nasdaq said tokenized and traditional shares would use the same order book, the same CUSIP identifier, and give holders the same rights and benefits as the traditional share class. (nasdaq.com) (sec.gov) The Securities and Exchange Commission tied Nasdaq’s approval to an earlier staff no-action letter issued to the Depository Trust Company on December 11, 2025. That letter covered a three-year voluntary pilot for tokenizing security entitlements to eligible securities held through DTC. (sec.gov 1) (sec.gov 2) The approved Nasdaq framework is narrower than some social posts suggest. The order covers “DTC Eligible Participants” and “DTC Eligible Securities,” not open-ended on-chain listings for every issuer or round-the-clock public trading. (sec.gov) The securities pool is also defined. Nasdaq’s filing says eligible names are limited to stocks in the Russell 1000 Index at launch, later additions to that index, and exchange-traded funds tracking the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100. (listingcenter.nasdaq.com) Nasdaq has framed the change as a way to plug blockchain rails into existing market plumbing rather than replace it. In its September 2025 explainer, the exchange said participants would choose regular or tokenized clearing and settlement when entering an order, with DTC handling the post-trade instruction. (nasdaq.com) Supporters in market structure circles argued during the comment process that the existing securities rulebook can apply to tokenized shares if investor rights stay the same. A Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association comment letter said the current federal securities framework applies to tokenized securities even when blockchain changes how they are settled. (sec.gov) The next test is execution, not headline value. Nasdaq now has approval to run tokenized trading inside the DTC pilot, with the same market rules, the same regulators, and a much smaller scope than “stocks have moved fully on-chain.” (federalregister.gov)