Timeline
- 8.0
SEC Staff Clarifies Token Buybacks and Liquid Staking in New FAQs
SEC staff in the Division of Corporation Finance published new FAQs clarifying that qualifying liquid staking receipt tokens fall outside federal securities laws, and reaffirmed earlier guidance on token buybacks tied to maintenance and development funding. The staff guidance states that buybacks on functional protocols generally do not involve "essential managerial efforts" and that qualifying liquid staking tokens can be treated as digital commodities or digital tools rather than securities. The FAQs address two structures that market participants have treated as securities-law risk — liquid staking receipt tokens and protocol-funded token buybacks — giving staking service providers and token issuers additional criteria for assessing classification. The guidance is staff-level FAQ rather than a formal rule. It builds on the SEC's earlier crypto asset FAQs and its March interpretive release, and follows a parallel CFTC update addressing tokenized investments and onchain records.
- 8.0
Clarity Act Fails in Senate, Handing Crypto Rulemaking to SEC and CFTC
On Tuesday the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act in a 49-50 procedural vote, far short of the 60 votes needed, with Democrats voting as a bloc and Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Josh Hawley and Jerry Moran joining them. Within days, SEC Chair Paul Atkins explicitly tied a new tokenized-stock "Innovation Exemption" to the bill's failure, while the CFTC expanded no-action relief for "passive software" providers and sent a broader crypto rulemaking package to the White House for review. The vote shifts the center of gravity for US crypto policy from Congress to the federal agencies, meaning the rules of the road for market structure, tokenized securities and DeFi interfaces may now be written through exemptions, no-action letters and guidance rather than legislation. That affects exchanges, brokers, wallet providers and tokenized-equity venues directly, and it leaves the resulting framework more vulnerable to reversal by a future administration than a statute would be. Sen. Thom Tillis initially voted yes before switching to no, a procedural maneuver that preserved the option of bringing the bill back later, and seven negotiating Democrats — Alsobrooks, Gillibrand, Warner, Booker, Cortez Masto, Gallego and Warnock — called the outcome "a setback, but not the end." The SEC's exemption gives Tokenized Securities Venues temporary relief from being treated as an "exchange" under the Exchange Act, while CFTC Staff Letter 26-25 expands earlier Letter 26-09 relief so passive software developers, including some wallet interfaces, generally avoid introducing-broker registration under Section 4d(g), Section 4k(1) and Regulation 3.12(a) when connecting users to regulated derivatives markets.
- 8.5
SEC Approves 'Innovation Exemption' for Tokenized US Stock Trading
The SEC approved an "Innovation Exemption" allowing qualifying venues, called Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs), to trade tokenized US stocks on public blockchains without registering as national exchanges; the relief took effect immediately and runs for five years. The same day, the CFTC issued a no-action letter letting passive software providers connect users to regulated derivatives without registering as introducing brokers, extending relief first granted to Phantom in March, and altcoins rallied 10% to 20%. This is a landmark shift in the US regulatory posture toward tokenized securities: it lands just two days after the Senate blocked the Clarity Act 49 to 50, so the SEC is advancing market-structure reform through its own statutory authority rather than waiting for Congress. It materially changes who can list, pool, and trade tokenized US equities onchain, and hands issuers a formal objection mechanism in the dispute over third-party stock tokens. Two limits stand out: the exemption covers only genuinely tokenized stocks carrying full rights including dividends and voting, which excludes the price-tracking synthetics behind most offshore volume, and an unaffiliated party may tokenize a company's stock while the issuer gets 30 days to object and effectively stop it. There is no application queue — a firm that meets the requirements simply notifies the SEC and starts operating, and firms supplying liquidity get separate relief from dealer registration.
- 8.5
SEC Grants Five-Year Exemption for Tokenized US Stock Trading
On Sept. 17, the SEC issued a five-year "Innovation Exemption" that lets regulated US stocks trade on blockchain-native Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs), two days after the Senate's CLARITY Act procedural vote failed 49-50, short of the 60 votes needed to advance. SEC Chair Paul Atkins framed the action as the agency moving "within its statutory authority" after the broader market-structure bill stalled. This is the first time the SEC has formally opened a supervised path for tokenized equities to trade on-chain in the US, potentially touching a US equity market the article sizes at roughly $70–77 trillion and pulling offshore tokenized-equity activity onshore. It also shows that with comprehensive crypto legislation stalled, US digital-asset policy is increasingly being set through agency exemptions rather than statute — a channel that industry participants can use but that can be reversed. TSVs must run permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools with symbol and volume caps, plus requirements for transaction transparency, trading halts, recordkeeping and technology safeguards; venues must publish prices, trade sizes, timestamps, pool addresses and daily volume, and the relief expires after five years. The framework includes issuer vetoes and faces thin off-hours liquidity, which may limit adoption before permanent rules are written.
- 7.5
Coinbase Launches 24/7 Stock Perpetuals for US Customers
Coinbase has introduced 24/7 trading of stock perpetual futures to US customers, significantly expanding its derivatives offerings beyond crypto assets into equities. This marks a major structural shift: a leading US crypto exchange now offers traditional equity derivatives around the clock, potentially attracting new retail traders and increasing Coinbase's platform usage. It also blurs the line between crypto and traditional finance, which could spur broader adoption of hybrid derivatives products. Stock perpetuals are USDC-settled contracts that track the price of publicly listed equities and equity baskets, without requiring ownership of the underlying shares. They offer 24/7 trading and apply periodic funding payments similar to crypto perpetuals, enabling leveraged positions in stocks at any time.
- 7.0
Coinbase Brings Stock Perpetuals Onshore, Hinting at 24/7 U.S. Equity Trading
Coinbase is reportedly bringing its stock perpetual futures product onshore to the United States, a move that could give American traders access to round-the-clock equity exposure. This signals a potential shift toward 24/7 stock trading in the U.S., mirroring crypto market conventions. Stock perpetuals enable leveraged equity exposure without owning the underlying shares, and offering them onshore could expand retail access to sophisticated trading tools. The move also highlights the growing convergence between traditional equity markets and crypto-native derivatives infrastructure, potentially pressuring legacy exchanges to innovate. Stock perpetual contracts track a stock's price without transferring share ownership and rely on funding rates to keep contract prices anchored to the spot market. These instruments are traded nearly 24/7 across crypto platforms, though specific regulatory approvals or launch timelines for Coinbase's onshore product were not included in the report.
- 7.5
Coinbase Files SEC Notices for 24/7 Leveraged Stock Trading in US
Coinbase has filed regulatory notices with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that could pave the way for offering 24/7 leveraged stock trading to American customers. The filings are a preliminary step and do not mean the product has been approved or launched yet. If approved, this would mark a major US crypto exchange moving into around-the-clock, leverage-enabled equities trading, blurring the line between crypto and traditional markets. It could pressure legacy brokerages to offer similar 24/7 access and expand Coinbase's business beyond digital assets. The notices are part of a regulatory process with the SEC, but no official confirmation or product details have been published. Leveraged stock trading involves borrowing capital to amplify both potential gains and losses, while 24/7 trading relies on electronic communication networks (ECNs) to match orders outside regular exchange hours.
- 7.5
Coinbase Seeks SEC Approval to List 24/7 Equity Perpetuals
Coinbase has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for permission to list 24/7 equity perpetuals, according to The Block. The product would enable round-the-clock, leveraged trading of instruments tied to traditional equities or indices. This marks a major U.S. exchange attempting to formalize crypto-style perpetual swaps on traditional equity under the SEC's regulatory umbrella. If approved, it would blur the line between crypto derivatives and stock market trading, expanding Coinbase's product scope and setting a precedent for other platforms. Equity perpetuals are synthetic, cash-settled derivatives without expiry dates, allowing leveraged exposure to stocks like Apple, Tesla, or indices such as SPY. The request is still a filing; the SEC has not yet approved or rejected it, and there is no confirmed launch timeline.