Solana Policy Institute just dropped a proposal on the SEC's desk that could blow up the entire stock market as we know it.

They are asking regulators to permit them to tokenize stocks on Solana's blockchain, featuring 24/7 trading and instant settlement.

Wall Street's dinosaur infrastructure might finally get the meteor it deserves.

The Big Ask

Project Open aims for an 18-month test run to demonstrate that blockchains can handle what NASDAQ does, but better.

They have Superstate as the SEC-registered issuer, and the DEX protocol Orca handling trading.

The entire framework would run on Solana's public blockchain, rather than a walled-garden corporate chain.

Traditional stock clearing takes T+2 days while blockchain settlement happens faster than you can say "front-running."

Technically Technical

Smart contracts would replace the entire clearinghouse system that's been around since your grandfather's first trade.

Every transaction is recorded on-chain, allowing anyone to verify it – no more mysterious "fails to deliver" issues.

Transaction costs could drop by half with fewer middlemen taking their cut on every trade.

Imagine trading on weekends when traditional markets are closed, like it's 2025 and not 1925.

The Regulatory Minefield

They're requesting exemptions from specific SEC rules without attempting to circumvent securities laws entirely.

Miller Whitehouse-Levine isn't playing the typical crypto founder game of "build now, beg forgiveness later."

The proposal includes all the boring compliance stuff – KYC checks, investor education, and volume caps.

They're essentially saying, "We can follow your rules and make trading better," instead of the usual crypto regulatory middle finger.

Missing Pieces Fall Into Place

Peer-to-peer trading between wallets creates headaches for regulators used to broker-controlled environments.

Nobody has figured out whether gas fees count as trading costs or how to make them fair for small investors.

The proposal is strategically vague on certain points to secure pilot approval before addressing the more challenging questions.

Think of it as getting your foot in the door before trying to renovate the whole house.

The Market Is Ready

BlackRock's Larry Fink is already telling everyone that tokenizing every financial asset is inevitable.

Coinbase launched its own tokenized stocks on Base with immediate uptake despite the regulatory gray area.

Traditional exchanges are watching this like hawks circling wounded prey.

The entire broker industry, from Robinhood to Charles Schwab, could get code-replaced if this takes off.

Dominos Are Already Falling

Foreign investors could trade US stocks at 3 AM their time without waiting for New York to wake up.

Fractional ownership becomes trivially easy – want 0.01 shares of Amazon? No problem.

Settlement risk disappears when trades clear in seconds instead of days.

The entire prime brokerage industry may need a new business model as code handles more tasks.

Tokenized Stocks This Year?

The SEC hasn't responded yet, but is under pressure from multiple directions to modernize market structure.

This isn't some crypto bro moonshot – it's a legitimate attempt to improve a system everyone knows is outdated.

Traditional exchanges will fight this with every lobbyist dollar they have.

However, between BlackRock's push and Coinbase's moves, the tokenization train has already left the station – Solana is just trying to ensure it has regulatory tracks to run on.