Expanding securities markets into overnight trading was the focus of a Thursday U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission roundtable, which also explored how the tokenization of securities could contribute to that shift.
While traditional institutions work on extending their operational hours, an SEC commissioner pointed out that digital asset markets “don’t sleep.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is advancing its preparations to shift traditional frameworks onto the continuous, 24-hour schedule typical of the cryptocurrency industry, hosting a Thursday roundtable at its Washington headquarters just one hour after issuing an order to approve tokenized securities trading.
“We are shifting toward a new era — encompassing both day and night,” Paul Atkins told an audience of securities attorneys, noting that tradable events are not bound by traditional market hours and that an expansion means “investors will be able to react more quickly to events.”
Alongside conversations about extending operating hours for legacy institutions, the SEC chairman addressed the agency’s recent initiatives regarding tokenization. The regulator established a new type of exemption available to entities wishing to launch tokenized securities trading platforms, offering a five-year grace period free from the pressure of burdensome securities regulations.
“I believe that tokenization holds the potential to help the securities industry achieve a real-time inventory management, which could drive efficiency, reduce settlement failures, mitigate the risk of abusive naked short selling, with the goal of eliminating that possibility altogether,” Atkins remarked. “Therefore, I’ve asked the staff to consider what steps can be taken to dovetail a growth-friendly environment with protections against harmful market behavior.”
Transitioning U.S. securities markets away from standard weekday daytime hours will require substantial changes, Atkins and other SEC commissioners acknowledged, though Commissioner Hester Peirce noted, “Crypto markets certainly don’t sleep.”
Peirce explained that organizations might worry that lengthening trading periods could result in wider spreads, heightened price volatility, reduced windows to address technical glitches, and challenges in ensuring transactions are properly supervised.
“These concerns are the real consequences of extending trading into hours when human involvement is limited,” Peirce stated, adding that companies might also fear overnight developments such as “social media rumors tanking your stock while your corporate office slumbers.”
Nevertheless, the SEC is pushing forward with the transition, and Atkins stated that “several needed preparations are already underway or in place.”
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/09/17/u-s-sec-begins-prepping-for-round-the-clock-trading-that-crypto-treats-as-the-norm.
