The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed repealing NMS Regulations 611 and 610(e), which for 20 years have restricted the display of quotes and prohibited transactions at less advantageous prices than elsewhere. The head of the SEC, Paul Atkins, has said that these regulations have become a drag on market development and has proposed to replace rigid restrictions with a flexible "best execution" principle. The initiative will be discussed for 60 days and final adoption of changes is expected in the first quarter of 2027.

Galaxy Digital research chief Alex Thorne called this a critical step for the industry, noting that current regulations are physically blocking the trading of tokenized stocks through automated marketers (AMMs). Decentralized protocols operate on mathematical formulas and cannot track the liquidity of external exchanges in real time. The AMM cannot stop the deal because of a better price on the Nasdaq. After the repeal of the rules, tokenized shares will be able to legally trade in DeFi pools , - emphasized Thorn.

Until the reform comes into effect, the SEC may launch pilot projects on tokenization, granting members temporary exemptions. Nonetheless, analysts are calling for expectations to be tempered: SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce had earlier warned that the regulator did not plan to allow synthetic-asset issuance under a so-called "innovative exception," focusing on real tokenized securities.