24X National Exchange’s latest tokenized stock filing puts the Wall Street anchor at the forefront of the stock tokenization race.
The exchange filed SR-24X-2026-20 on June 11, the SEC issued a notice on June 16, and the filing was notified in the Federal Register on June 22.
According to the SEC’s notification filing, this rule change will allow eligible 24X members to trade certain securities in tokenized form during the Depository Trust Company pilot.
The application positions tokenization as an upgrade to the domestic market system rather than a workaround. The model described by 24X maintains control over the exchange, DTC, participant eligibility, order entry, and protection of shareholder rights.
The token layer changes the way eligible positions are expressed and closed, while leaving the legal identity of stocks and the market structure for trading intact.
The answers on the application form are realistic. Tokenized stocks look like traditional market infrastructure with the addition of a token wrapper.
Even with tokenized stocks, the token layer remains within the market system
The filing would amend the 24X rules covering eligible securities, member access, order priority, and routing. The proposed structure will allow DTC Eligible Participants to trade tokenized versions of Eligible Equity Securities and Exchange Traded Products at 24X during the DTC Pilot Period.
According to the SEC’s notice, the securities will be traded within the current domestic market system and will use DTC to clear and settle trades in token form based on instructions selected during order entry.
This ensures that tokenized stock activity remains connected to the same market architecture that governs regular publicly traded stocks.
24X also framed this offer as part of an exchange-led pattern. This builds on a similar Nasdaq proposal that the SEC has already approved, according to the filing.
The approved Nasdaq precedent shows that the same DTC-compatible exchange model can be extended across national stock exchanges.
This is the tension between old pipes and access to new tokens that is at the heart of this story. Cryptocurrency traders are used to thinking of tokenization as a way to move assets outside of traditional intermediaries.
The 24X application shows the opposite direction. Regulated exchanges are preparing to offer tokenized access while maintaining the institutions that already control exchange trading, custodianship, and post-trade settlement.
This table shows the central trade-offs of the application. While tokenization adds a new layer of representation, each important market function remains tied to familiar regulated gates.
Token formats only work if exchange rules and DTC systems permit.
Same stock, different shape
The proposed rule text in Exhibit 5 is the strongest evidence that 24X treats tokenization as the same form of security.
Under the proposed language, securities could be traded in traditional form or in tokenized form during the DTC pilot.
Tokenized DTC-eligible securities can be traded in the same 24X book and with the same execution priority as traditional versions, provided they are fungible with traditional stocks and have the same CUSIP and trading symbol, giving them the same rights and privileges.
Rights language is important. This filing ties tokenized treatment to the same rights package as traditional securities.
Tokenized products that do not have these rights or do not share the same CUSIP and symbols will be treated as separate products rather than tokenized forms of existing equity.
This application makes tokenization a controlled priority. Eligible participants who wish to make tokenized payments will select the designated flag during order entry.
That flag may include information required by DTC, such as blockchain or wallet addresses. 24X will communicate its instructions to DTC, but DTC will only implement your preferences if they comply with the terms of DTC’s rules, policies, procedures, and no-action letter.
If the member is not eligible, the security is not eligible, the blockchain is not compatible, or the wallet is not registered with DTC, the order will remain in the traditional format.
This fallback reveals control points. The token layer is subordinate to DTC eligibility and exchange procedures, not the other way around.
This creates a practical boundary for the entire application. Tokenized access can exist, but must pass through member eligibility, security entitlements, wallet registration, blockchain compatibility, and DTC’s own operational limitations.
The further a tokenized product moves away from these controls, the further it deviates from the route 24X is trying to use here.
DTC keeps the record layer of tokenized stocks close
The 24X proposal relies on a DTC tokenization pilot based on a December 11, 2025 SEC staff no-action letter.
This letter describes a pilot version of the DTCC tokenization service that will allow DTC participants to elect to record their security entitlements to their DTC holdings on a distributed ledger as well as on DTC’s centralized ledger.
The pilot is participant-based. DTC participants register one or more approved blockchain addresses as registered wallets.
If a Participant instructs DTC to tokenize an Eligible Security Entitlement, DTC will debit the Entitlement from the Participant’s Account, credit it to the Digital Omnibus Account, and mint tokens representing that Entitlement into the Participant’s Enrolled Wallet.
DTC nominee Cede & Co. will remain the registered owner of the underlying securities represented by the tokenized rights.
DTC also monitors wallet activity and tracks token movement through LedgerScan, an off-chain system that serves as DTC’s official book and record of tokenized entitlements.
This architecture gives tokenization blockchain-like properties while maintaining capital records within a DTC controlled environment.
While tokens can be moved between registered wallets associated with participants, DTC maintains visibility and sets technology standards.
This pilot also includes limitations. Covered securities include Russell 1000 securities, U.S. Treasuries, and major index ETFs. Tokenized rights do not receive collateral or settlement amounts for DTC risk management. DTCs must report to the SEC staff on a quarterly basis. Unless the system changes, staff positions will be withdrawn three years after its inauguration.
These details make your application more important. 24X and DTC are already building a controlled path for tokenized access inside the machinery behind U.S. stock trading.
This controlled path still leaves practical unknowns for the market. 24X needs to identify eligible securities, DTC needs to decide which participants, blockchains, and wallets are approved, and operational value needs to be visible to users who don’t see the DTC layer directly.
Genuine Tokenized Stock Contest Is Delivery
24X’s application leaves open the occupancy of the cryptocurrency-native venue. However, this indicates that regulated venues are building compliant routes for tokenized equity demand before competitive questions are resolved.
This distinction changes the competitive framework, as the story of tokenized stocks is often presented as a direct battle between crypto apps and traditional brokers.
Crypto-native platforms can provide global access, a familiar wallet interface, and always-on user behavior. For products that simply track stock prices or rely on wrappers, holders may still not receive full rights to their shares.
The 24X-DTC model attacks that gap from the opposite direction. This preserves the rights and market identity of the underlying securities, but it is achieved by keeping access within the control of exchanges and DTCs.
The trade-off is clear. While this model may feel less open than crypto-native products, it maintains its share within a legal and operational framework that is familiar to issuers, brokers, regulators, and institutions.
The DTC pilot pattern has already been seen in previous CryptoSlate coverage of the DTC tokenization pilot. Tokenization is being introduced through existing custody and payment rails, with limited eligibility and reporting obligations.
Separate plans from ICE and NYSE point to other existing approaches, such as a planned tokenized securities platform that is always-on and aims for faster settlement, but this is different from the DTC pilot structure of the 24X application.
The immediate signal from SR-24X-2026-20 is a particular compromise. Tokenize access, but maintain security, bookkeeping, rights, and payment controls as Wall Street knows.
The next test is whether that compromise serves you well. If tokenization on DTC-compatible exchanges provides meaningful after-hours access, global distribution, or operational efficiencies without compromising shareholder rights, legacy infrastructure may own the first mainstream version of tokenized stocks.
Crypto apps will continue to push the distribution debate if they feel it is too permissive or too hidden from end users.
For now, routes are formed via DTC. Tokenized stocks may arrive with a blockchain reference in the order flow, but the core path still goes through DTC.
