SEC tokenized stock plan targets the register, not the token: Bitget analyst

The SEC has proposed a 60-day rulemaking process to modernize transfer-agent systems for blockchain records as offshore demand for tokenized stocks grows. Summary SEC rules would permit transfer agents to use blockchain-based systems for securities records. The proposal does not make tokens legal shares or grant holders shareholder rights. Bitget recorded $1.16 billion in tokenized-stock volume from June 2 to July 19. Shared ownership records remain necessary for US and offshore products to become interchangeable. Bitget Research Chief Analyst Ryan Lee told crypto.news that the SEC’s proposal addresses a part of tokenized stock markets that has received less attention than trading venues: the official record showing who legally owns each share. Most tokenized stock products available outside the United States give investors price exposure through a synthetic or custodial structure, Lee said. Under such arrangements, a platform or custodian holds the underlying security, while the investor owns a token carrying a claim against that intermediary. “The key difference is how ownership is recorded, not the token itself,” Lee said. In the traditional US market, registered transfer agents...