SEC okays Nasdaq pilot for tokenized stock trading

The U.S. SEC has approved Nasdaq’s pilot for tokenized stock trading, allowing qualified participants to trade and settle selected equities in tokenized form on the same venue as traditional shares. The tokenized stock represents the same underlying real-world asset, with the same rights, pricing, and investor protections as standard equities. The pilot is limited to Russell 1000 constituents and major index-linked ETFs. Nasdaq previously filed the proposal in September to improve market processes (including proxy voting) and aims to support faster settlement workflows, while addressing SEC concerns around market surveillance and potential pricing discrepancies through amended safeguards. Nasdaq is building the infrastructure with Kraken and tokenization platform Backed. The approval also follows broader momentum: DTCC tokenization initiatives and ICE (NYSE owner) support for tokenized stocks via an OKX-backed project. For crypto traders, this is not a spot-crypto catalyst, but it is a regulatory milestone for tokenized securities. It can reinforce the long-term RWA narrative and improve sentiment toward compliant tokenized trading infrastructure—mainly a medium- to long-term theme.