Together with KR1 - An Ethereum focused digital asset technology company, listed on the London Stock Exchange.

After three weeks of telegraphing that the tokenized-stock innovation exemption was just days from release, the SEC pulled the draft on May 22, 2026. Bloomberg first reported the delay, citing stock-exchange officials and market participants who raised concerns about market fragmentation and "synthetic" tokens trading without issuer consent. Chair Paul Atkins had previously said the agency was "on the cusp."

Commissioner Hester Peirce posted twice on X on May 21 and 22 to clarify scope, writing the exemption was always meant to cover only "digital representations of the same underlying equity security that an investor could purchase in the secondary market today, not synthetics," and that she appreciated the public interest "but not the hyperbole."

Industry mostly cheered the slowdown. Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo said delay was preferable to a framework that would "unleash all sort of problems." Bullish CEO Tom Farley posted that issuers should be the only ones to issue tokenized versions of their own stock. The SEC has not formally withdrawn the proposal. Source

Two days before delaying the tokenized stocks framework, Atkins paused around 24 novel ETF filings. The May 20, 2026 SEC statement instructed staff to seek public input on how the Commission should treat event-contract and prediction-market ETFs from Bitwise, Roundhill, and GraniteShares.

Atkins said in the statement that ETFs "have been, and remain, a major driver of innovation in the securities markets," but that "novel products raise novel questions." The SEC has not published a review timeline. Source.

On May 20, 2026, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), asking whether the rulebook that took effect in 2024 is still fit for the 2026 market. Feedback closes on August 31, 2026. The Commission is running two questionnaires in parallel: one public, one technical for issuers, service providers, financial institutions, academics, and public authorities.

The review is wide. Stablecoins, wrapped tokens, synthetic assets, DeFi, staking, lending, and tokenized funds are all in scope. The Commission flagged classification challenges around products that blur the line between crypto-assets and traditional financial instruments, and the treatment of DeFi protocols that currently sit outside MiCA.

The timing matters. Crypto-asset service providers have until July 2026 to secure full MiCA authorization or stop operating, and the 2.0 review will run in parallel with that deadline. Source