DeFi Gets a Chance to Prove Its Efficiency Claims Under SEC Supervision
The SEC's new innovation exemption has given DeFi a chance to prove its claims of efficiency and speed. Speaking at Korea Blockchain Week 2026, Orca Chief Legal Officer Christopher Montagano said that this exemption allows decentralized finance to test whether blockchain rails are actually more efficient than traditional ones.
The exemption was issued on September 17, 2026, and grants five years of conditional relief until September 17, 2031. It lets Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs) and certain liquidity providers run permissioned trading of tokenized US-listed National Market System (NMS) stocks.
Orca has been involved in discussions with the SEC around these frameworks since at least 2025 and has a head start in practice. Tokenized stocks have been trading on the platform since November 2025, including Forward Industries common stock.