Shares of tokenization-focused firms including Bullish (BLSH), Figure (FIGR), Coinbase (COIN), and Circle (CRCL) slipped Friday as the SEC delayed its planned “innovation exemption” for tokenized securities and canceled a meeting on proposed crypto offering rules.
Uniswap’s UNI dropped 7% leading CoinDesk 20 index losses, as the exemption was expected to provide relief for trading securities on DeFi venues.
The regulatory setback is a “speed bump” for tokenization and may lengthen adoption, but does not derail momentum behind tokenized assets and 24/7 trading infrastructure, Clear Street managing director Owen Lau said.
Tokenization-related stocks slid Friday after another delay to a long-awaited U.S. regulatory initiative weighed on investor sentiment towards the industry's expansion into traditional securities.
Bullish (BLSH) fell about 8% in early trading, reversing gains following its second-quarter earnings report. The crypto platform, which owns CoinDesk, is acquiring transfer agent Equiniti as it builds infrastructure for issuing and servicing tokenized securities.
Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN), which is pursuing its own tokenized-stock offering and recently picked Abu Dhabi as the offshore hub, declined 2%. Meanwhile, stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) dropped nearly 4%.
The moves followed CoinDesk's report late Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was set to further delay its anticipated “innovation exemption,” which is expected to make it easier for companies to offer trading in tokenized securities.
