A Potential Unlock for DeFi Stocks

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally proposed the elimination of the long-standing “trade-through” rule.

This regulation, which has governed U.S. stock markets for decades, mandates that investors must receive the “best possible price” for their transactions, a requirement that has historically acted as a major barrier for decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms attempting to list tokenized equities.

A watershed moment for the industry

As noted by industry experts, crypto exchanges attempting to trade regulated U.S. stocks under current rules would effectively be committing “trade-throughs” constantly, making their operations legally precarious. By rescinding this rule, the SEC is effectively opening the door for a wave of regulated, on-chain equity trading.

The impact is already visible. Firms like Galaxy Digital and Coinbase have reacted enthusiastically, viewing the change as one of the biggest “unlocks” for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).

Coinbase recently announced plans to launch tokenized stock trading outside the U.S., allowing investors to hold 1:1 backed shares directly on-chain, and this new regulatory posture suggests a path for such innovations to potentially move toward the U.S. domestic market.

Market structure evolution

Critics argue that the SEC is “rewriting” market rules to accommodate an industry that struggled to fit into legacy frameworks.

However, supporters, including SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, argue that the rule prioritizes outdated price-matching metrics over the modern requirements of liquidity and order execution. As major players like the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq continue their own blockchain-based venue builds, this regulatory change signals that the U.S. government is increasingly willing to modernize market structures to maintain global financial competitiveness.

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