Ripple Backs SEC Regulation Crypto Assets, Urges Final Rule to End Uncertainty

Ripple Backs SEC Regulation Crypto Assets, Urges Final Rule to End Uncertainty

by | Oct 21, 2026 | Adoption

Ripple has formally endorsed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, filing a detailed comment letter on October 20 that urges the agency to adopt the framework as a final rule. The submission came on the last day of the public comment period and was addressed to SEC Secretary Vanessa A. Countryman.

The move places Ripple, which spent years in court fighting the SEC over XRP sales, in the position of supporting the regulator's effort to write industry-wide rules. The company argues that clear regulations are needed to protect investors and keep innovation in the United States, and that formal rules would replace the case-by-case enforcement approach it blames for driving crypto businesses offshore.

Alderoty on Regulation Crypto Assets

Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty said Ripple supports the proposal but stressed that the industry needs clear rules instead of years of case-by-case enforcement, according to CryptoRank. He confirmed the submission publicly in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, where he referenced the company's legal expenses during its concluded SEC lawsuit.

Alderoty said the agency has clear authority to adopt the rules and called for a clearer approach to digital asset regulation. "We support the proposal, and the SEC has clear authority to adopt it," he said, according to CryptoRank.

He argued that the SEC's earlier reliance on individual enforcement actions created uncertainty, restricted legitimate businesses and pushed cryptocurrency innovation outside the United States, Crypto Adventure reported. In a post on X, Alderoty stated that Years of 'case by case, coin by coin' enforcement have pushed innovation offshore, according to NameCoinNews.

Tokens Versus Investment Contracts

A central point in Ripple's filing is the distinction between a crypto asset itself and any investment contract under which it may have been offered, NameCoinNews reported. The company maintains that issuing tokens through investment contracts does not automatically classify the underlying digital assets as securities.

Ripple said the framework is consistent with the Supreme Court's Howey test, which defines an investment contract as involving an investment of money in a common enterprise with profits expected from the efforts of others, according to NameCoinNews. Alderoty called the approach faithful to Howey, the 1946 Supreme Court case, CryptoPotato reported.

Ripple opposes making decentralization an independent requirement for determining when securities obligations have ended, according to kucoin. Instead, the company wants regulators to examine whether issuers have fulfilled or permanently withdrawn their original commitments to investors. What matters is what an issuer actually promised and when those promises end, not a subjective 'decentralized' test, Alderoty wrote, according to CryptoPotato.

The letter also rejects sorting tokens into "company-backed" and "network" camps, warning that the split would revive the "implicit" promise standard the SEC dropped in its 2026 interpretation, CryptoPotato reported. In one example cited in the letter, a company sending 5% of each sale to buy and burn its own token creates an investment contract because the code automates a promise to return revenue to holders.

What the Proposal Contains

The SEC released Regulation Crypto Assets on August 18, aiming to create a clearer framework for certain investment contracts involving digital assets. The proposal establishes two registration exemptions for qualifying investment contracts involving cryptocurrency.

One pathway would permit eligible startups to raise $5 million over four years without traditional securities registration. A second exemption would allow offerings of up to $75 million within 12 months, subject to additional disclosure and financial reporting requirements. The larger exemption includes a $20 million Tier 1 pathway and a $75 million Tier 2 pathway, Crypto Adventure reported, and federal antifraud and antimanipulation provisions would continue to apply.

The proposal also includes a conditional safe harbor allowing a cryptocurrency to cease being associated with an investment contract once the issuer has completed or permanently ended its promised essential managerial efforts. Under a proposed Rule 400, an issuer could file a public Form TR certifying that the work it promised buyers is finished or abandoned, CryptoPotato reported.

Ripple supports the safe harbor but opposes an SEC suggestion to limit it to issuers that fulfilled their promises, arguing that buyers can no longer expect profits from abandoned work either, according to CryptoPotato. The framework builds on a March 2026 joint interpretive release by the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that began clarifying how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets, NameCoinNews reported.

Refinements Ripple Wants

While backing the exemptions, Ripple proposed changes to how digital assets are classified, how investment contracts terminate and how secondary-market transactions are regulated. The company wants the SEC to clarify that cryptocurrency issuers do not automatically need to submit a Form TR to establish that an investment contract has ended, Crypto Adventure reported.

Ripple also recommends allowing exchanges, brokers and other intermediaries to rely on completed Form TR filings when determining whether an asset remains subject to securities requirements. Another proposed refinement would extend the safe harbor's treatment of crypto assets to the Investment Company Act and Investment Advisers Act, reducing inconsistent classifications across federal securities laws.

The company is seeking stronger protections for secondary-market transactions involving tokens separated from investment contracts, and it wants Rule 500 clarified to prevent ordinary cryptocurrency trading from inheriting obligations tied to earlier offerings, kucoin reported. Ripple also opposes excluding ordinary broker-dealer transactions from proposed state-registration preemption protections, warning that such restrictions could discourage regulated intermediaries from providing secondary-market liquidity.

On the question of authority, the letter points to Section 28 of the Securities Act and Section 36 of the Exchange Act, which let the SEC exempt class or classes of securities, CryptoPotato reported. Ripple maintains that the SEC can introduce tailored exemptions using its existing statutory authority without waiting for new congressional legislation, a position that follows the Senate's failure to advance the CLARITY Act in September.

Industry Letters and Litigation History

Ripple was not alone. A group of blockchain organizations including Chainlink Labs, the Cardano Foundation, Hedera, Ava Labs, the Stellar Development Foundation and Aptos Labs filed a joint comment letter urging the SEC to codify classifications for digital commodities, NameCoinNews reported. The coalition argued that clearer status would strengthen U.S. competitiveness and reduce legal ambiguity for networks already widely viewed as decentralized.

The Blockchain Association also endorsed the proposed framework on October 20 but requested changes to its fundraising restrictions, Crypto Adventure reported. The industry group wants the startup exemption increased from $5 million to $10 million, arguing that blockchain development, infrastructure and security expenses can exceed the proposed ceiling, and it recommends excluding qualifying airdrops and network participation rewards from fundraising limits.

Ripple's position follows the resolution of its own SEC litigation, which officially concluded in August 2025 when both parties agreed to dismiss their appeals, ending a case that began in December 2020 over XRP sales, kucoin reported. The resolution preserved a July 2023 federal court ruling distinguishing institutional XRP sales from certain secondary-market transactions, while Ripple remained subject to a $125 million civil penalty and an injunction over securities-registration violations.

Alderoty revealed that Ripple spent more than $150 million defending itself throughout the dispute, adding that "No company should have to do that to learn what the law requires," according to CryptoRank. Ripple maintains that formal regulations would provide greater stability than enforcement policies that future SEC leadership could reverse, kucoin reported.

Conclusion

Ripple's October 20 letter puts the company on record supporting Regulation Crypto Assets while pressing the SEC to refine how investment contracts end, how tokens are classified and how secondary-market trades are treated. The public comment period closed on October 20, though the SEC is accepting feedback beyond its formal deadline, according to The Cryptonomist. The framework remains a proposal, with no final adoption date or implementation schedule announced, and the agency must complete its regulatory review before adopting final rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Ripple file with the SEC on October 20, 2026?

Ripple filed a roughly 20-page comment letter addressed to SEC Secretary Vanessa A. Countryman expressing full support for the proposed Regulation Crypto Assets and calling on the Commission to adopt it as a final rule. Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty confirmed the submission publicly in a post on X.

What fundraising exemptions does Regulation Crypto Assets propose?

The proposal includes two registration exemptions for qualifying digital asset investment contracts. One pathway would let eligible startups raise $5 million over four years without traditional securities registration, while a second would permit offerings of up to $75 million within 12 months, subject to additional disclosure and financial reporting requirements.

How much did Ripple spend on its SEC lawsuit over XRP?

Stuart Alderoty said Ripple spent more than $150 million defending itself in the litigation, which concluded in August 2025 when both parties dismissed their appeals. Ripple also remained subject to a $125 million civil penalty and an injunction over securities-registration violations.

Why does Ripple oppose a decentralization test for crypto assets?

Ripple argues decentralization should not be an independent requirement for determining when securities obligations end. The company wants regulators to assess whether an issuer has fulfilled or permanently ceased the essential managerial efforts promised to investors, consistent with the Supreme Court's Howey test.

Which crypto organizations joined the push for clearer SEC rules?

Chainlink Labs, the Cardano Foundation, Hedera, Ava Labs, the Stellar Development Foundation and Aptos Labs filed a joint comment letter urging the SEC to codify digital commodity classifications. The Blockchain Association separately endorsed the framework while asking that the startup exemption rise from $5 million to $10 million.

Sources

SEC Launches Five-Year Innovation Exemption for Tokenized Stocks

SEC Launches Five-Year Innovation Exemption for Tokenized Stocks

by | Oct 10, 2026 | Policy & Regulations

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order on September 17, 2026, creating a temporary innovation exemption to facilitate on-chain trading of tokenized National Market System (NMS) stocks. The relief runs for a five-year term through September 17, 2031, allowing qualifying venues to operate under conditional exemptions from exchange registration under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The order allows registered broker-dealers and alternative trading systems to trade tokenized shares on public blockchains without registering as national securities exchanges, according to Forkast News. The move establishes a structured venue layer for tokenized equity transactions following a surge to $15.6 billion in monthly tokenized equity volume in September 2026.

The Mechanics of the Innovation Exemption

The SEC innovation exemption establishes a regulatory sandbox that permits an unaffiliated company to tokenize a public company's listed equity without corporate involvement. Tokenized securities venues (TSVs) may then offer those digital shares for trading, subject to conditions that include mandatory volume caps and platform limits.

Trading may take place only across three public blockchains: Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain, Forkast News reported. The SEC explicitly identified these networks for the controlled trial rather than establishing an open-ended channel for digital equities.

To participate, a TSV must post a public notice at least 30 calendar days before launching operations and email the SEC within one business day of that publication. Platforms can implement access controls by restricting liquidity pools to allow-listed wallet addresses or by programming the tokenized stock itself to transfer solely among verified wallets.

Notice Windows and Issuer Objections

Public companies face a strict 30-day timeline once an unaffiliated firm seeks to tokenize their shares under the innovation exemption framework. A TSV must deliver a formal written notice to the company, giving the corporate issuer 30 calendar days from receipt to submit an objection before tokenized trading can start.

If a corporation does not object within the 30-day period, the firm is considered to have accepted third-party tokenized trading of its shares, Latham & Watkins LLP reported. If an objection is lodged, the venue must update its public notice within five business days to disclose the objecting issuer and contact the SEC by email within one business day.

A corporate objection halts that specific TSV from using the exemption for that issuer's NMS stock, yet it does not prevent third parties from tokenizing shares or stop competing TSVs from filing separate requests. Issuers that tokenize directly or authorize their own tokenization are entirely exempt from the issuer notice mandate.

Market Structure and Infrastructure Concerns

The framework generates distinct market structure questions because TSV activity bypasses the consolidated tape and is not routed to a securities information processor. TSV trading does not register in standard volume channels, meaning consolidated feeds might understate true market liquidity, trading turnover, and daily volume metrics.

Latham & Watkins LLP noted that while volume ceilings apply to each individual TSV, aggregate on-chain turnover could surpass those thresholds across multiple independent venues. Issuers are advised to coordinate with listing exchanges and transfer agents regarding how on-chain activity is measured, while checking with legal staff as notices arrive.

The framework covers all exchange-listed domestic stocks as well as foreign private issuers, exposing American Depositary Receipt issuers to dual-halt coordination risks. A TSV must halt trading when the primary US exchange halts, but foreign shares remain vulnerable to overnight trading discrepancies if overseas listing bourses freeze while US trading desks are closed.

Industry Reaction to the Innovation Exemption

The new rules coincide with proposed SEC modernization of transfer agent rules permitting distributed ledger tracking, according to Forkast News. Early institutional activity under the sandbox is anticipated to center on highly liquid, widely held equities as market participants evaluate the innovation exemption.

Corporate stakeholders have begun submitting formal input regarding the regulatory perimeter. FinTech Magazine reported that Bitcoin Bancorp, Inc. submitted a formal public comment asking the SEC to clearly distinguish pure infrastructure vendors from registered securities dealers.

Bitcoin Bancorp Executive Vice President Eric Noveshen stated that "Tokenization of stocks and real-world assets is gaining momentum within capital market structures and Bitcoin Bancorp’s letter to the SEC supports the proposition that certain digital-asset access providers should receive securities-law relief." Noveshen added that "A company that verifies identity, has full AML/KYC compliance, and facilitating trading of tokenized stocks should receive an exemption from the definition of a “dealer" under federal securities statutes.

Under the regulatory order, eligible tokens must convey identical rights to the underlying stock. Venues are permitted to offer a tokenized NMS stock for trading only after verifying that holders receive full rights parity, specifically including proportional voting rights.

Holders of tokenized shares would generally be classified as beneficial owners of the stock rather than record owners on an issuer's master securityholder ledger, Latham & Watkins LLP reported. The tokenizing institution or an affiliated entity typically acts as the depository intermediary holding the underlying registered shares.

Companies pursuing direct tokenization gain greater oversight over their wrapper, trading venue, and disclosures. Meanwhile, issuers assessing third-party venue filings under the innovation exemption must review operations carefully, as unaddressed notices permanently open the door to on-chain trading.

Conclusion

The SEC innovation exemption establishes an active five-year test environment for trading tokenized NMS stocks on Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain. As the immediate exemption runs toward its September 17, 2031 expiration date, the SEC will collect trading and settlement data to decide whether to codify permanent rules or allow the relief to sunset.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the duration of the SEC innovation exemption?

The SEC innovation exemption was issued on September 17, 2026, and provides a five-year temporary conditional relief period running until September 17, 2031, according to Latham & Watkins LLP and Forkast News.

Which blockchains qualify under the SEC order?

According to Forkast News, trading under the SEC exemption is restricted to three qualifying public distributed ledgers: Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain.

How long do public companies have to object to an Issuer Notice?

Corporate issuers have 30 calendar days from the date they receive an Issuer Notice to object; failing to act allows the tokenized securities venue to begin trading on day 31, according to Latham & Watkins LLP.

Do tokenized shares carry shareholder voting rights?

Yes. A tokenized securities venue may only list tokenized NMS stocks after confirming that token holders receive the same economic and voting rights as underlying shareholders, establishing them as beneficial owners under Rule 13d-3(a).

Sources

Thailand SEC Issues Framework for Local Bitcoin and Ether Crypto ETFs

Thailand SEC Issues Framework for Local Bitcoin and Ether Crypto ETFs

by | Oct 10, 2026 | Policy & Regulations

Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission has finalized a regulatory framework allowing local fund managers to establish spot crypto ETFs, with the rules scheduled to take effect Oct. 16, 2026. Under the 11 notifications released by the regulator on Oct. 8, the framework permits products tracking bitcoin and ether to list and trade exclusively on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

The framework establishes operational parameters for digital asset fund management, the appointment of qualified custodians, and investor protections across the domestic financial market. While the rulebook opens the door for fund sponsors to submit products for regulatory clearance, regulators noted that each individual investment vehicle must still secure dedicated SEC approval before public trading begins.

According to CryptoRank and local reports, the finalized measures set explicit operational expectations for any domestic asset management company planning to enter the space. Under the published structure, the scope of the market remains intentionally narrow during its debut window, anchoring initial permissions strictly to products tied to the two largest digital assets.

Custody Mandates and Exchange Exclusivity for Crypto ETFs

The finalized rules mandate that all underlying digital tokens held by the funds must be stored with digital asset custodians supervised directly by the Thai SEC. Fund managers will not have the option of listing on secondary domestic trading venues, as products are restricted entirely to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Crypto Briefing reported that the SEC announced its operational requirements on Oct. 16, 2026, setting baseline standards for asset management companies and mutual fund supervisors. The regulator also noted that it may evaluate the inclusion of qualified foreign digital asset custodians at a future stage if deemed suitable.

The rules outline detailed criteria covering technical infrastructure and organizational readiness before an institution can supervise custody pools for crypto ETFs. By centralizing holding verification with locally authorized entities, the commission intends to retain direct regulatory oversight over reserve balances and prevent offshore operational risks.

Institutional Allocation and Cross-Border Investment Limits

Alongside requirements for new offerings, the SEC updated its provisions to allow domestic mutual funds and private funds to invest directly in Thai-established crypto ETFs within their existing statutory investment boundaries. Previously, local funds were permitted to allocate capital only toward foreign-domiciled crypto products.

The commission has barred securities firms from offering margin loans to investors seeking to buy crypto ETFs, aiming to limit leverage risks. During the initial rollout, regulators have blocked retail access to cross-border crypto wrappers, prohibiting local brokerages from assisting general retail investors with foreign crypto ETFs while restricting such transactions strictly to institutional and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

Financial intermediaries are also barred from listing or distributing alternative instruments referencing offshore crypto products, including depositary receipts. The SEC confirmed that these restrictions will remain intact throughout the initial phase of implementation.

Consultation Process and Launch Requirements

The finalization of the 11 regulatory notifications follows a pair of public consultations conducted by the regulator earlier in the year. The SEC sought industry feedback regarding its core principles across April and May 2026, followed by a second consultation phase covering the detailed draft text throughout August and September.

Industry executives emphasized that Oct. 16 represents the legal activation of the regulatory regime rather than a confirmed debut date for live market trading. Fuwattananukul stated that commercial success will depend on structural execution, observing, "Whether these products draw meaningful investment will depend on a few things: competitive fees, tight tracking of the underlying asset, and investor education."

Addressing the behavioral hurdles facing traditional market participants, Fuwattananukul remarked, "For many investors, especially those wary of opening exchange accounts or managing wallets, ETFs through their existing brokerage accounts remove a real barrier." Chimphlapibul noted the significance of local execution, adding, "However, the actual outcome will depend on operator readiness and investor response."

Prospective fund promoters must prepare independent administrative paperwork, obtain clearance for individual product prospectuses, and coordinate with the SET prior to any public listing. The SEC emphasized that general regulatory permission does not waive standard scrutiny for new investment funds.

Investor Protection Rules for Crypto ETFs

Under the regulatory standards, brokers must provide comprehensive disclosures explaining the structural features and volatile characteristics of digital assets to prospective buyers. Securities firms are legally required to obtain explicit confirmation from clients verifying that they comprehend the risks before executing any purchase of crypto ETFs.

The debut of the ETF channel coincides with changing domestic participation trends. According to 99Bitcoins citing official SEC data, active trading accounts across Thai digital asset exchanges dropped to 121,000 in July 2026, marking a 21.82% slide from June and a sharp drop from roughly 265,000 active accounts documented in 2024.

The mandate for formal risk acknowledgments applies uniformly across all authorized brokerages distributing the vehicles. By barring margin facilities and enforcing mandatory disclosure checkpoints, the regulator seeks to curb reckless retail speculation while still establishing an accessible route to regulated digital asset exposure.

Conclusion

The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission's regulatory package establishes the formal legal foundation for spot bitcoin and ether funds to trade on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. With the 11 notifications taking effect on Oct. 16, 2026, the next concrete step requires local asset managers to prepare organizational infrastructure, submit fund applications for SEC review, and secure formal listing clearance before any products can launch.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do the Thailand SEC crypto ETF rules take effect?

The regulatory framework takes effect on Oct. 16, 2026. The Thai SEC released 11 notifications on Oct. 8 finalizing the legal guidelines for fund establishment, though individual products still require explicit regulatory clearance before listing.

Which digital assets are permitted under the framework?

The initial phase of the framework permits exchange-traded funds to track only bitcoin and ether. All qualifying funds must be listed and traded exclusively on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Are Thai retail investors allowed to purchase foreign crypto ETFs?

No. Under the SEC rules, Thai brokerages remain barred from facilitating investments in foreign crypto ETFs for retail clients. Offshore products are restricted exclusively to institutional and ultra-high-net-worth investors.

Can investors trade crypto ETFs using margin loans?

No. The SEC has explicitly prohibited securities firms and brokers from issuing margin loans to clients for purchasing crypto ETFs, keeping leverage curbs aligned with existing rules for direct digital asset acquisitions.

Sources

Franklin Templeton Seeks Regulatory Relief for Tokenized Fund Trading Pools

Franklin Templeton Seeks Regulatory Relief for Tokenized Fund Trading Pools

by | Oct 10, 2026 | Market

Global asset manager Franklin Templeton has engaged with the Securities and Exchange Commission to evaluate regulatory relief for tokenized fund trades across blockchain platforms, according to reports from Bitcoin.com News and KuCoin citing Huoxing Finance [F1]. The discussions, held with members of the SEC Crypto Task Force on Oct. 9, addressed fundamental legal constraints affecting trading pools, asset custody, fees, and share pricing [F2, F4, F43].

The outreach comes as investment managers attempt to integrate registered collective investment vehicles directly into on-chain decentralized market mechanisms [F4, F43]. Franklin Templeton, which managed $1.68 trillion in assets as of March 31, brought the inquiry forward to clarify how federal securities statutes apply to automated liquidity infrastructure [F4, F43, F56].

Regulatory Relief for Tokenized Fund Trades

The primary focus of the regulatory relief for tokenized fund trades involves operational conflicts under the Investment Company Act of 1940 [F1, F43, F44]. In the Oct. 9 session, the company raised questions regarding how statutory pricing frameworks apply when blockchain-based shares trade in pooled venues alongside other assets, KuCoin and Bitcoin.com News reported [F2, F44, F62].

Franklin Templeton examined the application of Section 22(d) and Rule 22c-1 to liquidity pools where shares of tokenized money market funds could be paired against tokenized National Market System equities [F7, F44, F46]. Section 22(d) mandates that redeemable fund shares be purchased at the current public offering price described in the prospectus, while Rule 22c-1 requires transactions to execute at the subsequent net asset value calculated after an order is received [F11, F12, F44, F46].

Automated liquidity pools price transactions dynamically using programmatic formulas, which can diverge from traditional fund pricing schedules [F47]. The firm questioned whether regulatory exemptions are required to accommodate these algorithmic pools and to permit liquidity providers supplying the capital to assess service fees [F8, F14, F45, F63].

ETF Trading Pairs and Liquidity Pool Status

The scope of the discussions extended beyond money market products to include tokenized exchange-traded funds [F4, F18, F48]. Franklin Templeton presented concepts for tokenized ETF trading pairs formed against tokenized stocks, permitted payment stablecoins, or tokenized money market fund shares [F18, F48, F65].

Because on-chain execution venues do not hold national securities exchange designations, the manager probed whether dedicated relief would be necessary to permit ETF shares to trade continuously on alternative networks, TokenPost reported [F20, F49].

The firm also sought regulatory perspective on the legal classification of the automated pools themselves [F21, F50, F65]. Franklin Templeton asked whether liquidity pools holding tokenized assets and distributing liquidity-provider positions could be defined as investment companies under the 1940 Act, or if those LP positions necessitate separate exemptions under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 [F21, F22, F24, F25, F50].

Existing SEC Frameworks and Exemptions

A central backdrop to the dialogue is the SEC order from Oct. 17, which created a temporary five-year conditional structure for permissioned venues executing tokenized NMS stocks through automated market maker pools [F15, F51, F53]. That order exempts eligible entities from selected broker-dealer and national exchange mandates under defined operational terms [F15].

Those terms restrict access to approved market participants, set explicit volume thresholds, mandate public smart contracts, align trading halts with primary stock exchanges, and preserve shareholder rights [F16, F17]. While the Oct. 17 framework allows tokenized money market funds to function as pairing assets in pools, it stops short of providing exemptions under the Investment Company Act of 1940, leaving Section 22(d) and Rule 22c-1 issues unsettled [F51, F52].

Crypto News reported that Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson defended native on-chain accounting models during an appearance at the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore [F73, F74]. Johnson criticized rival fund structures as digital twins whose official records remain in legacy transfer agencies while external tokens merely mirror balances [F73, F74, F79, F82]. She contrasted those setups with the firm's architecture, which embeds primary ownership records directly into blockchain platforms [F73, F81, F83].

BENJI Architecture and On-Chain Growth

Franklin Templeton first rolled out its digital asset recordkeeping infrastructure in 2021 by launching the Franklin Onchain U.S. Government Money Fund, registered under ticker FOBXX and relying on Rule 2a-7 [F30, F31, F54, F72]. Each BENJI token represents a single share in the open-end government fund, with share transfers managed directly by the proprietary Benji Technology Platform across public blockchains including Stellar, Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Aptos, Base, Solana, and BNB Smart Chain [F30, F32, F33, F54, F92].

According to an Aug. 12 SEC staff letter, Franklin Templeton Investor Services operates a dual ledger structure [F87]. The transfer agent tracks private investor data internally while recording anonymous transaction values on public blockchains, combining the inputs in real time to generate the official register [F87, F88, F91]. The letter noted that the transfer agent maintains authority to reverse unauthorized transfers, freeze accounts, migrate wallet registries, and re-establish primary records when required [F89, F90].

Data tracked by RWA.xyz showed Franklin Templeton Benji Investments holding approximately $2.60 billion in distributed asset value on Oct. 9, ranking it second across tokenized U.S. Treasury platforms [F104, F105]. The asset figure was led by iBENJI at roughly $1.71 billion and BENJI at approximately $760.6 million [F107]. Net assets reported for the conventional FOBXX fund stood at $686.64 million as of Aug. 31, while TokenPost reported the OnChain Fund reached $1.98 billion in assets under management as of April 29 [F55, F108, F109].

Franklin Templeton has continued expanding institutional applications for its tokens. The firm integrated its platform with MoonPay Trade on June 2 to let qualified institutions trade between tokenized fund shares and supported stablecoins [F35, F60, F114]. Additionally, SEC staff issued a no-action position on Aug. 12 regarding internal fund investments, allowing affiliated Franklin funds to hold BENJI shares under specific custody and board oversight procedures [F28, F57, F58, F116, F118].

Conclusion

Franklin Templeton's engagement with the SEC Crypto Task Force highlights unresolved legal hurdles facing tokenized fund trades in secondary decentralized markets. While existing regulatory orders offer conditional safe harbors for automated trading venues handling tokenized equities, they do not resolve 1940 Act requirements surrounding fund pricing and pool classifications [F43, F51, F52]. The firm is continuing to advocate for formal regulatory relief and exemptions that would legally permit open-end funds and ETFs to settle directly across automated blockchain liquidity pools [F1, F68].

Frequently Asked Questions

When did Franklin Templeton meet with the SEC Crypto Task Force?

Franklin Templeton met with staff from the SEC Crypto Task Force on Oct. 9 to discuss legal questions regarding pricing, service fees, and asset pools for tokenized funds [F2, F4, F43].

Which laws are central to the regulatory relief for tokenized fund trades?

The primary issues involve Section 22(d) and Rule 22c-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, which dictate prospectus pricing and forward net asset value execution for redeemable fund shares [F11, F12, F44]. Additional relief may involve the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 [F25].

What is Franklin Templeton's BENJI token?

BENJI is a blockchain token representing shares of the Franklin Onchain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX), an open-end government money market fund launched in 2021 [F27, F30, F31, F54]. Transferring a BENJI token transfers the underlying fund share recorded via the Benji Technology Platform [F32, F33].

How much distributed asset value does the Benji platform hold?

Tracker RWA.xyz reported that Franklin Templeton Benji Investments held approximately $2.60 billion in distributed asset value on Oct. 9, ranking second among tokenized U.S. Treasury platforms [F104, F105]. Standalone BENJI assets stood at roughly $760.6 million, with iBENJI representing approximately $1.71 billion [F107].

Sources

OKX and NYSE Owner ICE File for 24/7 Tokenized Stock Trading Under SEC Innovation Exemption

OKX and NYSE Owner ICE File for 24/7 Tokenized Stock Trading Under SEC Innovation Exemption

by | Oct 5, 2026 | Market News

OKXICE, the joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a venue for tokenized stock trading that would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The notice, dated Sunday, October 4, relies on the SEC's new Innovation Exemption, which the agency issued on September 17 to let qualifying venues trade tokenized U.S. stocks using automated market makers and liquidity pools without registering as exchanges.

The filing matters because it puts the SEC's five-year exemption into practice for the first time at this scale, pairing a major U.S. exchange operator with one of the largest crypto platforms. The plan covers 63 stock tokens and remains subject to regulatory steps, including a 30-day window during which listed companies can object to the tokenization of their shares.

What OKXICE Filed

OKXICE LLC notified the SEC that it intends to operate as a Tokenized Securities Venue, or TSV, a new category of platform the agency created through its September 17 order. The venture plans to run permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on X Layer, OKX's layer-2 network, offering around-the-clock trading in more than 60 U.S.-listed companies.

The initial list of 63 stock tokens includes Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, along with crypto-linked companies such as Coinbase, Strategy, Circle and Robinhood, according to reports by Cointelegraph and Yahoo Finance. Each tokenized stock would be paired with USDC, Global Dollar (USDG) or USDt, Cointelegraph reported.

The tokens listed so far come from a third-party tokenizer, which the notice does not name, that holds the underlying shares one-for-one through an SEC-registered broker-dealer, Yahoo Finance reported. The notice also states that OKXICE is not registered with the SEC in any capacity for this activity, according to Finance Magnates.

The SEC Innovation Exemption Behind Tokenized Stock Trading

The SEC order grants temporary, conditional exemptive relief to Tokenized Securities Venues from the definition of "exchange" in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, allowing them to trade tokenized National Market System stock through permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools. The relief was issued under Section 36(a)(1) of the Exchange Act and also exempts certain liquidity providers, called Covered Firms, from the definition of "dealer."

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins framed the order as a deliberate policy choice. Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission is taking a significant step forward, within its statutory authority, to bring America's capital markets into the digital age by facilitating onchain trading of certain tokenized stocks through the 'Innovation Exemption,' he said. Jamie Selway, Director of the SEC Division of Trading and Markets, called the approval "an important milestone for the Commission's work to open our capital markets for tokenized securities."

The exemption carries conditions. Tokenized NMS stocks traded on a TSV face limits on the number of symbols and volume traded; each venue may list no more than 75 large U.S. stocks, with volume capped at 0.25 percent of each stock's average daily volume, according to Trending Topics. A TSV must verify that tokenized stock gives holders the same rights and privileges as the equivalent traditional shares, including dividends and voting rights, and must stop trading a token whenever the underlying stock is halted on its primary listing exchange.

Issuers retain a say in the process. Before a TSV lists a stock tokenized by an unaffiliated third party, it must give the underlying issuer written notice and an opportunity to object, and issuers that do not want their shares trading on such venues can opt out. Smart contracts used by a TSV must be auditable, public and deployed on a public, permissionless distributed ledger, and venues must provide public notice about their operations and trading activities.

The SEC described the relief as an interim step. The Innovation Exemption would allow TSVs to trade tokenized NMS stock in a permissioned environment today while the Commission considers the need for additional action to facilitate onchain trading, the agency said, adding that insights gained during the temporary window will inform durable, comprehensive rules. The order will be published on SEC.gov and in the Federal Register.

Cuomo and Xu on the 24/7 Plan

Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor who co-chairs OKXICE, announced the filing on X on Sunday night. "This is a landmark step toward a truly global, 24/7 Wall Street — and toward keeping the future of digital finance anchored here in the United States," Cuomo said in a statement shared with The Block, adding that "Tokenized securities are part of what comes next."

Cuomo told CoinDesk the venture combines strengths from both parents, saying OKX and ICE bring together deep expertise from both sides of the equation. The opportunity now is to build on this first step and show how 24/7, onchain markets can make trading and settlement more efficient, accessible and global, he said, adding: "And we're just getting started."

Star Xu, founder and chief executive of OKX, emphasized the shareholder-rights condition at the center of the SEC framework. The future of markets is real ownership, onchain. Full shareholder rights are what make that possible, Xu said, according to The Block and Trending Topics. He also said tokenization could make public markets "more open, seamless and always available."

The venture is co-chaired by Cuomo and Trabue Bland, Senior Vice President of Futures Exchanges at ICE, The Crypto Times reported. Cuomo also sits on the OKX board of directors, a role The Crypto Times reported in July after he spent several years as an adviser to the exchange.

The OKX-ICE Partnership Behind the Venue

OKX and ICE announced OKXICE as a 50-50 joint venture on June 22, 2026, to build infrastructure for tokenized and digitally native financial products. The venture followed ICE's strategic investment in OKX in March 2026, a deal that valued the crypto exchange at about $25 billion.

Under the broader arrangement, OKX customers could gain access to ICE futures and tokenized NYSE shares, subject to regulatory approval, according to ICE's announcement. The two companies have since expanded their ties, including the launch of OKX perpetual futures based on ICE oil benchmarks in May, The Crypto Times reported.

OKX already operates tokenized stocks outside the U.S. under the xStocks brand, covering over 70 U.S. equities and ETFs settled on Solana and X Layer and priced in USDT, according to Coingape. OKXICE now wants to bring that trading onshore to a regulated U.S. venue, where tokenized versions of stocks carry the same dividend and voting rights as regular shares, CoinDesk reported.

OKB, the native token of the OKX ecosystem, traded at $124.62 at the time of writing, up 3.4% over 24 hours and 5.3% over seven days, according to CoinGecko data cited by The Crypto Times.

Industry Pushback and What Comes Next

Not all market groups support the SEC's approach. SIFMA, the trade group for U.S. securities firms, warned that the exemption could allow multiple tokenized versions of the same stock to trade in parallel on lightly regulated markets, which could confuse and harm investors, its chief executive Kenneth Bentsen said in a statement, according to Trending Topics.

Better Markets, an advocacy group, was blunter. "The SEC has essentially created two regulatory regimes for stock trading," said Benjamin Schiffrin, its director of securities policy.

The filing lands amid a broader industry push toward extended trading hours. Nasdaq is set to move to 23-hour trading five days a week in December, while the London Stock Exchange is preparing its own 24/5 venue for 2027, DailyCoin reported. The SEC also approved a Nasdaq pilot in March in which tokenized shares trade in the same order book and under the same ticker as conventional ones, according to Finance Magnates.

OKXICE enters a race that includes Ondo, Robinhood and NYSE's separate tokenized-stock access talks with Blockchain.com, Coingape reported. Robinhood is reportedly approaching SEC volume caps under the same exemption framework.

Before trading can begin, OKXICE must complete the 30-day issuer opt-out period and meet every condition of the exemption, including symbol limits, volume caps and full shareholder rights for token holders. The number of companies that remain on the initial list of 63 will indicate how willing NYSE-listed issuers are to see their shares traded on blockchain-based venues, and the SEC has said it will use data from the five-year window to shape longer-term rules for tokenized securities.

Conclusion

OKXICE's October 4 filing is the first large-scale attempt to use the SEC's Innovation Exemption, proposing 24/7 trading of 63 tokenized U.S. stocks on X Layer through permissioned Uniswap v4 pools. The venue still faces concrete steps before launch: a 30-day window for issuers to object to tokenization of their shares, plus compliance with the exemption's conditions on symbol limits, volume caps, shareholder rights and halt linkages. The SEC has said it will use observations from the five-year exemption period to develop permanent rules for onchain trading of tokenized securities.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is OKXICE and who owns it?

OKXICE is a 50-50 joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. The two companies announced the venture on June 22, 2026, to build infrastructure for tokenized and digitally native financial products, following ICE's March 2026 investment in OKX at a valuation of about $25 billion.

Which stocks will OKXICE's tokenized stock trading venue offer?

The notice lists 63 stock tokens, including Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, plus crypto-linked companies such as Coinbase, Strategy, Circle and Robinhood. The tokens come from an unnamed third-party tokenizer that holds the underlying shares one-for-one through an SEC-registered broker-dealer.

What is the SEC Innovation Exemption issued on September 17, 2026?

The Innovation Exemption is a five-year SEC order granting temporary, conditional relief that lets Tokenized Securities Venues trade tokenized U.S. stocks through permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools without registering as exchanges. It also exempts certain liquidity providers from the definition of "dealer" under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

When can OKXICE begin 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks?

No launch date has been set. OKXICE must first complete a 30-day period during which issuers can object to the tokenization of their shares, and it must meet all exemption conditions, including symbol limits, volume caps and full shareholder rights for token holders, before trading can begin.

What protections does the SEC require for tokenized stock holders?

Tokenized stocks must give holders the same rights and privileges as traditional shares, including dividends and voting rights. Trading in a token must stop whenever the underlying stock is halted on its primary exchange, venues may list no more than 75 large U.S. stocks, and volume is capped at 0.25 percent of each stock's average daily volume.

Sources

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