SEC Begins Review of Nasdaq's 'Tokenized Stock Trading' [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially begun soliciting public comments on whether to approve Nasdaq Stock Market's 'Tokenized Stock Trading.' In connection with this, J.P. Morgan is challenging BlackRock's market dominance by launching a money market fund (MMF) based on the Ethereum blockchain. As Wall Street adopts blockchain as a driving force to replace existing capital market infrastructure, there are growing calls for the domestic Security Token Offering (STO) market, which has focused mainly on 'Fractional Investing,' to adjust its trajectory.
According to foreign media and the financial investment industry on the 19th, the SEC has initiated a public comment process regarding the proposed rule changes for tokenized stock trading submitted by Nasdaq. This marks the first official step in considering whether to allow stocks and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF) issued on the blockchain to be traded on traditional securities markets.
Nasdaq’s proposal is designed to prevent the creation of so-called 'dual markets.' Tokenized Stocks will be traded on the same order book as traditional stocks, with identical investor rights such as dividends and voting. Clearing and settlement will still be processed through the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), but blockchain technology will be used to enhance settlement speed and efficiency.
A financial investment industry official noted, "It is noteworthy that the SEC has begun to address this at the level of exchange rule changes rather than legal amendments," and explained, "The United States interprets security tokens as an evolution of existing securities rather than a new asset class, focusing on infrastructure efficiency."
Institutional capital inflow is accelerating in line with the institutionalization of the tokenization market. J.P. Morgan Asset Management has launched 'MONY,' its first tokenized MMF based on Ethereum. The product targets institutions and qualified investors with a minimum investment of $1 million, and an initial seed capital of $100 million has been committed.
This move directly targets BlackRock’s tokenized fund 'BUIDL,' which currently leads the market with $2.9 billion in assets. Major asset managers such as Franklin Templeton and Fidelity Investments are also already operating similar products.
Alongside traditional financial institutions, fintech companies are also accelerating their efforts. Ondo Finance, a Real World Asset (RWA) platform, plans to launch a service early next year that will allow 24/7 trading of U.S. stocks and ETFs on the Solana blockchain.
While Wall Street is improving capital market infrastructure by tokenizing trillions of dollars worth of traditional securities such as stocks and bonds, some point out that Korea remains focused on discussions around 'Fractional Investing' in art and real estate, which are considered non-traditional securities.
An STO industry official stated, "The U.S. case demonstrates that the essence of security tokens is the efficiency of settlement and clearing," and added, "In Korea, as STO legislation progresses to the stage of drafting enforcement ordinances, it is important to ensure that traditional assets can be tokenized in connection with central institutions such as the Korea Securities Depository (KSD)."
elikim@fnnews.com Kim Mi-hee Reporter