SEC Rolls Out Innovation Exemption as CLARITY Act Stalls

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued an 'Innovation Exemption' to allow qualifying venues to trade tokenized public stocks on the blockchain. This move comes after the CLARITY Act stalled in a Senate cloture vote, failing to reach the required 60-vote threshold.

According to SEC Chair Paul Atkins, the exemption is designed to resolve challenges preventing responsible innovation from taking root in the US while providing investor protections and market integrity standards.

Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, expressed disappointment over the CLARITY Act's failure but noted that the SEC's action keeps momentum alive. Industry experts warn that agency action cannot replace the durability of statute.