SEC tokenized stock plan targets the register, not the token: Bitget analyst

The SEC has proposed a 60-day rulemaking process to modernize transfer-agent systems for blockchain records as offshore demand for tokenized stocks grows. Summary SEC rules would permit transfer agents to use blockchain-based systems for securities records. The proposal does not make tokens legal shares or grant holders shareholder rights. Bitget recorded $1.16 billion in tokenized-stock volume from June 2 to July 19. Shared ownership records remain necessary for US and offshore products to become interchangeable. Bitget Research Chief Analyst Ryan Lee told crypto.news that the SEC’s proposal addresses a part of tokenized stock markets that has received less attention than trading venues: the official record showing who legally owns each share. Most tokenized stock products available outside the United States give investors price exposure through a synthetic or custodial structure, Lee said. Under such arrangements, a platform or custodian holds the underlying security, while the investor owns a token carrying a claim against that intermediary. “The key difference is how ownership is recorded, not the token itself,” Lee said. In the traditional US market, registered transfer agents maintain issuer records, process ownership changes, and help manage corporate actions. Connecting a token to an authoritative transfer-agent register could allow legal ownership to appear on the same official record used for conventional shares, according to Lee. You might also like: Tokenized stocks expand access, but what do investors legally own? Tessera PE founder explains SEC tokenized stock proposal modernizes the ownership system The SEC proposal, published on Sep. 1, would update federal rules and forms governing registered transfer agents. Existing transfer-agent rules have not received a substantial update since the late 1970s and early 1980s, according to the agency. Under the plan, transfer agents could use electronic communications and blockchain technology when handling securities offerings and share transfers. Proposed changes also cover registration, reporting, recordkeeping, and safeguards for securities and funds. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the proposal would update the rules to account for current transfer-agent operations, including the use of blockchain technology. Public comments will remain open for 60 days after the proposal appears in the Federal Register. Lee cautioned that the rulemaking deals with the systems supporting securities ownership, not the legal status of tokenized shares themselves. Adoption would not automatically establish a token as the underlying security or give its holder voting, dividend, and other shareholder rights. “It modernizes the plumbing an authoritative tokenized register would eventually need,” Lee said, calling the proposal meaningful while stressing that substantive securities-law questions remain unresolved. For American investors, the distinction determines whether an onchain product amounts to registered stock ownership or merely financial exposure tied to a listed company.