According to CoinMeta, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced that qualified platforms will be allowed to conduct blockchain trading of U.S. stocks over the next five years without having to register as national stock exchanges. This policy, known as an "innovation exemption," will enable companies to test blockchain-based stock trading without being restricted by traditional stock exchange rules. The SEC also clearly distinguished between tokens that truly represent stock ownership and products that merely track prices. Qualified trading venues can facilitate qualified tokenized U.S. stock trading through smart contracts and liquidity pools, and certain liquidity providers may be exempt from broker registration requirements. This move could change the way stock trading is conducted, allowing investors to trade through blockchain liquidity pools rather than relying on traditional order books.