U.S. FINANCIAL SYSTEM COULD RUN ON BLOCKCHAIN BY 2027, SAYS SEC CHAIR
- US SEC Chair Paul Atkins says the entire American financial market could move to blockchain within two years. He shared this in an interview with Fox Business.
- Atkins said the next phase of the market will arrive with digital assets, market digitization, and tokenization.
- He expects major gains in transparency. He said risk management will improve as assets migrate to blockchain rails.
- Tokenization turns stocks and other assets into tradable blockchain tokens. It is seen as a major shift for modern markets.
A Vision Backed by Wall Street’s Largest Players
- Larry Fink, who leads BlackRock, wrote in 2023 that tokenization could grow at the pace of the early internet.
- He said the sector sits today where the internet stood in 1996. Early. Underestimated. Ready for scale.
- Fink also said tokenization will help bring broader access to financial markets. His firm’s push for a spot Bitcoin ETF marked what he called the first step toward a tokenized system.
Tokenized Treasury bills now exceed $8 billion on public chains. Two years ago, that figure was below $1 billion.
- Asset managers say this rise tracks early ETF growth. Reports expect tokenized assets to near $400 billion by the end of 2026.
A New Regulatory Path
- Atkins revealed the SEC’s “innovation exemption” for crypto issuers. It launches in January.
- This rule lets some crypto-based financial instruments reach the market without full registration. This marks a sharp move away from the SEC’s earlier hard stance under former chair Gary Gensler.
