US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig says financial markets should prepare for “mass tokenization” as regulators adapt existing frameworks for blockchain, artificial intelligence and onchain markets.
In remarks delivered Tuesday at the US Treasury Markets Conference, Selig said Tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) can become the foundation of more efficient financial systems, enabling near-instant settlement and real-time collateral movement between clearinghouses, intermediaries and users.
“Just as the transition from hand signals to electronic trading has improved our financial system, I believe tokenization can do the same for all asset classes,” Selig said, adding that the CFTC will follow policy-based rules as tokenization and onchain finance evolve.
Selig said in August that the CFTC would proceed with crypto rules under its existing authority if Congress did not pass the Clarity Act. The Senate failed to advance the bill on September 15.
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On September 17, the CFTC submitted a regulatory action covering crypto asset transactions and markets for White House review. The filing is still in the “prerule” stage and does not detail the planned regulations.
The SEC also moves to bring onchain to the market
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials have also promoted the development of tokenized markets.
In a Bloomberg TV interview, Jamie Selway, director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets, said: said That tokenization and crypto have recently become politicized but “not inherently a politicizing function.”
Selway said U.S. success in market development should have bipartisan support.
On September 17, the SEC granted a temporary “innovation exemption” for tokenized US stock trading.
The exemption allows trading in digital versions of US-listed stocks under certain conditions.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said in February that such exemptions could facilitate onchain trading while regulators develop long-term rules.
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