RWA

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed a plan that could have opened the door to trading tokenized versions of U.S. stocks. A Bloomberg report dated 22 May said internal concerns and industry pushback slowed the proposal, as the SEC continues weighing how crypto-based equity products fit within existing securities laws. Recent SEC guidance and remarks from Commissioner Hester Peirce indicate the sharper focus may be on synthetic stock-exposure products rather than tokenized equities tied directly to underlying shares.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has pushed back work on a planned exemption meant to clarify how it views tokenized assets, after concerns surfaced around third-party token issuance. SEC staff has been meeting with stock-exchange officials and market participants over the past few days and is weighing feedback, while the agency chair has said the proposal is intended to serve as a sandbox for onchain equities.

The current crypto upswing appears to be a narrative-led rotation rather than a broad bull market, with Bitcoin failing to hold above $80,000 and sliding to $77,000. Since May 19, $62.8 billion in inflows has favored a small set of altcoins while the wider market stayed range-bound. At press time, the Altcoin Season Index was 38, far below the level typically associated with an altcoin season.

On 22 May 2026, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and OKX said they launched perpetual oil futures tied to ICE Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmarks. The products have no expiry date and are set to be offered to OKX's 120 million retail users in jurisdictions where the exchange holds the required licenses. The rollout follows ICE's March 2026 strategic equity investment in OKX at a $25 billion valuation.

On May 21, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it is preparing a temporary regulatory exemption that would let eligible firms trial tokenized stock trading on blockchain networks under tight limits. The plan would test tokenized shares, automated market makers and crypto-native settlement, with conditions such as volume caps, whitelisted participants and time-limited approvals.

Ethereum’s active RWA market share declined from 93.4% at the start of 2025 to 61.1% by the end of Q1 2026, even as it remains the largest chain by RWA market cap at about $18.7 billion. The shift coincides with more tokenized-asset activity spreading to other networks and with the Ethereum Foundation signaling plans to reduce its relative influence over time.

Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said on May 19 that the central bank plans to publish draft rules for systemic stablecoins next month and aims to finalize a broader framework by year-end. She also outlined plans spanning tokenized markets, the Bank-FCA digital securities sandbox, and upgrades to the UK’s RTGS settlement infrastructure, including a push toward near-24/7 operations by the early 2030s.

Securitize said it delivered record quarterly revenue of $19.48 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, up 39% year over year, as asset servicing fees rose sharply. The firm also highlighted NYSE Digital roles and continued growth linked to tokenized funds such as Blackrock's BUIDL, alongside $3.4 billion in tokenized AUM at quarter-end and a net loss of $7.93 million.

Solana’s tokenized real-world assets rose 43% quarter over quarter in Q1 2026 to $2.01B, led by Blackrock’s BUIDL and additional growth from PRIME and ONyc. Over the same quarter, “Chain GDP” application revenue stayed nearly flat at $342.2M even as SOL fell 33% and Solana DeFi TVL slipped 22% to $6.16B. Developers are also preparing the Alpenglow upgrade, which targets 150ms finality in 2026.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing a proposed framework that could allow tokenized versions of publicly listed stocks to trade on blockchain-based crypto platforms as early as this week. The tokenized stock sector has grown to $1.43 billion across more than 2,200 assets, with monthly transfer volumes at $3.10 billion and about 267,710 holders. Ondo leads with $888 million in tokenized equity value, while DTCC has said it plans limited production trades starting in July 2026.