Washington's Dual Crypto Push: SEC Clears Tokenized Stocks While House Advances Bitcoin Reserve

U.S. regulators and lawmakers moved on two separate fronts this week, signaling that federal crypto policy is advancing through agency action and committee votes even as comprehensive market-structure legislation remains stalled in the Senate.

SEC Opens the Door to Tokenized Stock Trading

On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a five-year "Innovation Exemption" granting temporary, conditional relief to so-called Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs), a category that includes platforms operated by Robinhood Markets and Coinbase Global. The exemption removes qualifying venues from the statutory definition of an "exchange" under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and excludes certain liquidity providers from being classified as "dealers," clearing the way for permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools to trade tokenized versions of NMS-listed stocks.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins framed the move as a step toward bringing "America's capital markets into the digital age." Under the order, any token traded through a TSV must carry the same rights as the underlying share, including dividends and voting power — a condition that appears to exclude synthetic, derivative-style tokens used in some offshore products. Participating venues must be U.S.-based, follow sanctions screening under OFAC rules, and meet trading-limit and recordkeeping safeguards, though they do not need individual SEC designation to begin operating.

The relief is set to expire on September 17, 2031, and arrives just two days after a procedural vote on the CLARITY Act — the broader bill meant to divide digital-asset oversight between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — fell short in the Senate. Separately, the CFTC issued its own industry-wide no-action relief shielding non-custodial software and wallet developers from broker-dealer registration requirements. Shares of Robinhood rose roughly 6% following the announcement.

House Committee Advances Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Legislation

On the legislative side, the House Financial Services Committee voted 28-21 on Wednesday to advance H.R. 8957, the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 (ARMA) — the first bill of its kind to clear a full House committee. Introduced by Rep. Nick Begich with Rep. Jared Golden as a bipartisan co-lead, the bill would convert the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, currently an executive-branch policy established by President Trump's March 2025 order, into permanent statutory law.

The measure would place federally held Bitcoin — obtained primarily through criminal and civil forfeiture — under consistent Treasury custody, subject to a 20-year minimum holding period, and would create a separate Digital Asset Stockpile for other government-held digital assets. Agencies would also be required to file annual proof-of-reserve reports to improve transparency around holdings that crypto intelligence firm Arkham estimates exceed $25 billion in value.

The bill next heads to the full House calendar, though no floor vote has been scheduled, and lawmakers are expected to leave Washington for recess shortly, making near-term action unlikely.

Market Reaction Stays Measured

Bitcoin traded near $76,300, up roughly 0.5–0.7% on the day — a muted response that analysts read as the market treating both developments as meaningful process milestones rather than finished outcomes. A committee vote is not a floor vote, and an SEC exemption is not permanent rulemaking; both leave substantial regulatory and legislative steps still ahead. Together, though, the two actions suggest that federal agencies and House committees are increasingly willing to move on crypto policy independently, even while comprehensive legislation remains gridlocked in the Senate.