SEC Commissioner Peirce Signals Openness Toward Tokenized Asset Engagement

SEC’s Hester Peirce Signals Openness to Tokenization, Urges Industry Engagement

SINGAPORE — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce said Tuesday that the regulator is ready to engage with firms developing tokenized products, while underscoring the complexity of integrating blockchain-based assets with traditional markets.

“We are willing to work with people who want to tokenize, and we encourage them to come talk to us,” Peirce said at the Digital Assets Summit in Singapore.

Tokenized securities are blockchain-based representations of ownership rights in assets such as stocks or bonds. These exist alongside conventional formats like paper or electronic certificates, creating regulatory questions about how the different versions of the same security interact.

“Some of the questions are how a tokenized security interacts with other iterations of the same security and how those forms work together,” Peirce explained. She added that regulatory treatment will depend heavily on the design and structure of the tokenized product.

Tokenization, along with stablecoins, is emerging as one of the most practical uses of blockchain, with banks and institutions increasingly exploring it to enhance liquidity, efficiency, and market infrastructure.

The on-chain tokenization market has reached about $31 billion, including $714 million in tokenized equities, according to RWA.xyz. McKinsey projects the market could expand to nearly $2 trillion by 2030.