The US financial industry group SIFMA has urged the SEC to reject crypto companies' applications for tokenized stock exemptions

The Securities Industry and Financial Marekt Association (SIFMA), which represents major Wall Street institutions, recently sent a letter to the Crypto Working Group of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), strongly calling on the SEC to reject requests from digital asset firms to issue tokenized shares through "no action letters" or "waiver relief."
In the letter, SIFMA said its members were "deeply concerned" by reports of digital asset companies seeking to issue tokenized shares, and urged the SEC to reject these waiver applications. The association believes that for the introduction of new trading and issuance models, as well as other policy issues that may arise, the SEC should adopt a more transparent public process that allows for broader industry participation and feedback, rather than just addressing immediate waiver requests. SIFMA raised questions, including whether companies need to become members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), how investors are protected, and how the SEC monitors unregistered entities.