SEC's Jamie Selway Urges Bipartisan Support for Tokenization and Crypto
Key Takeaways
- •SEC Division of Trading and Markets Director Jamie Selway argues that tokenization and crypto should be a bipartisan goal rather than a partisan issue.
- •The SEC's Innovation Exemption, issued September 17, 2026, allows venues to trade tokenized NMS stocks without full exchange registration for five years.
- •The exemption permits AMM-style liquidity pools for tokenized stocks, bringing a decentralized-finance market-making structure into US equities trading.
- •With digital asset legislation stalled in the Senate, the SEC is writing rules through exemptions and guidance, while Nasdaq and the NYSE have signaled plans to build tokenized securities platforms.
- •Selway is pushing for greater SEC-CFTC coordination on swap reporting and portfolio margining, and ties tokenization to the potential extension of equity trading beyond regular hours since blockchain rails operate around the clock.
Jamie Selway, Director of the US Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Trading and Markets—the SEC unit that oversees securities exchanges and broker-dealers—is making the case that tokenization and crypto should not be treated as a partisan issue. His argument: modernizing markets through digital assets is a goal both sides of the political aisle should share, and the SEC is building a framework intended to make that happen.
The pitch centers on a principle Selway has championed since at least January 2026: “innovation without arbitrage.” In practical terms, this means that if a stock is placed on a blockchain, it is still a stock and the same rules apply. Tokenized assets should receive no special advantages, but they should not face extra penalties either.
The Innovation Exemption
On September 17, 2026, the SEC put regulatory force behind Selway's vision by issuing what it calls an “Innovation Exemption.” The measure provides temporary relief for venues that want to trade tokenized NMS stocks—securities covered by the National Market System, the core equities listed on major US exchanges.
Under the exemption, these venues can operate without full exchange registration for five years. Perhaps more notable is what the exemption actually permits: AMM-style liquidity pools for tokenized stocks—an automated market-making structure in which software prices trades from pooled liquidity, more commonly associated with decentralized finance.
Why Bipartisan Support Matters
Selway's call for bipartisan support is not merely rhetorical; it is strategic. Digital asset legislation has stalled in the Senate, and in the absence of Congressional action, the SEC is effectively writing the rules on its own through exemptions and guidance.
Market infrastructure players are already positioning themselves: Nasdaq and the NYSE have both signaled intentions to develop platforms for trading tokenized securities.
Regulatory Coordination and Round-the-Clock Markets
Selway has also been pushing for better coordination between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the two agencies that split oversight of US securities and derivatives markets, particularly on swap reporting and portfolio margining.
He has connected his tokenization framework to the broader discussion about extending equity market trading beyond the current 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern window. Blockchain rails are inherently 24/7, and AMM-style pools could help with liquidity provision during off-peak hours, when traditional market makers are typically less active.
The five-year window on the Innovation Exemption is worth watching closely. It is long enough for real businesses to be built on the new framework, but short enough to create urgency around permanent legislation in Congress.
