SEC tokenization push via exemptions may lack durability of full rule, ex-SEC lawyers say

The SEC’s plan to clear a path for tokenization by granting an “innovation exemption” from securities laws may carry less legal resilience than a formal rulemaking, former SEC lawyers said. According to CoinDesk, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said the agency can use exemptive authority without a rule, while Chairman Paul Atkins has described a time- and scope-limited exemption to allow trading of certain tokenized securities as the SEC works toward longer-term rules. Lawyers said exemptions have more heft than staff statements but could still be easier to reverse than rules or legislation.