Formation Securities on Nov. 9 notified U.S. regulators of its intent to operate a tokenized stock trading venue built on Solana, with plans for round-the-clock trading of U.S.-listed shares and a target of early 2027 for its first transactions.

The proposal links public-company shares with blockchain settlement under a new exemption from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for venues trading tokenized stocks. However, the notification does not constitute SEC approval, and investors cannot yet trade on the proposed venue.

Formation Names Three Planned Stock Listings

Formation's announcement named Exodus Movement, Forward Industries and Galaxy Digital as its intended initial issuers, with U.S. stock tickers EXOD, FWDI and GLXY, respectively. The firm expects to offer tokenized versions of eligible shares rather than separate synthetic price-tracking products.

In its public notice, Formation identified the securities but left final trading arrangements subject to further disclosures. The filing also states that the SEC has not reviewed the notice's merits or accuracy, and the firm had not commenced regular trading as of the filing.

Formation President Christopher Montagano said the project intends to work directly with publicly listed companies — an approach that reflects a regulatory requirement allowing issuers to object to tokenizations by unaffiliated third parties. The announcement named Superstate and Securitize as prospective tokenization providers, and identified Alpaca, Passage by CoinList and several custody and wallet businesses as planned distribution channels. These arrangements would give eligible investors access beyond Formation's own interface. The company has not announced confirmed transaction volumes or revenue projections.

How Formation's Tokenized Stock Venue Would Operate

Formation's filing describes permissioned automated market maker pools using technology licensed from decentralized exchange Orca. Unlike conventional stock exchanges, those pools would execute transactions against available liquidity without a central order book, and only approved wallets could trade or provide liquidity.

Investors would hold tokenized shares in compatible digital wallets and pay with eligible stablecoins or other permitted assets. Under the proposed atomic settlement process, the security and the payment would transfer within the same Solana transaction, in contrast to the next-business-day settlement cycle that applies to conventional U.S. equity trades. A failed transaction would move neither asset, although network fees could still apply.

The structure is designed to support 24/7 U.S. stock trading without conventional exchange trading hours, whereas traditional U.S. exchanges operate during fixed weekday sessions. Trading would nevertheless stop if the underlying listed security faces an official exchange halt, meaning continuous access would not override existing market protections.

Formation's announcement says transfer agents would retain official shareholder records despite onchain trades, and token holders would keep voting, dividend and corporate-action rights. The filing requires backing reviews before each stock is admitted to the venue.

SEC Exemption Sets Trading Conditions

The SEC's Sept. 17 order granted temporary, conditional relief from traditional exchange registration requirements for qualifying venues that trade tokenized National Market System stocks through permissioned liquidity pools. The exemption also imposes security-level and trading-volume limits.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins explained that federal anti-fraud and anti-manipulation rules remain applicable, and he has framed the exemption as a bridge toward durable rulemaking. The agency has also opened the exemption to public comment. The framework requires issuers' rights to survive tokenization and gives companies an objection mechanism. Eligible operators cannot treat an exemption as unrestricted authorization.

The regulator's operating guidance requires public notices at least 30 calendar days before trading begins, and operators must notify SEC staff within one business day of publication. SEC staff guidance urged publication after establishing production-ready access standards, and the regulator warned that appearing on its venue list does not establish compliance.

Formation's notice describes identity checks, sanctions screening and wallet approvals before participant access, according to the filing. The company retains authority to restrict wallets and pause operations. For Solana crypto users, the venue's permissioned structure differs from unrestricted token trading.

Next Steps for 24/7 U.S. Stock Trading

Formation's public filing outlines transaction reporting and market surveillance procedures ahead of its intended launch. The company plans to publish prices, sizes and timestamps within 10 minutes of completed trades, and it has proposed daily disclosures of liquidity-pool balances and volumes.

Superstate CEO Robert Leshner and Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo endorsed their expected roles in Formation's announcement. Still, integration plans do not establish initial liquidity or investor participation, and additional securities would require updated public disclosures before trading.

The next verifiable milestone is Formation's planned early-2027 launch, which remains subject to the SEC exemption's conditions. Investors can review subsequent amendments to the company's public notice for confirmed assets, access rules and operating details.