The SEC’s proposal to rescind its tokenised stock rules under Regulation NMS removes what Galaxy Digital’s head of research calls the single largest structural barrier to tokenised US equities trading in DeFi. Two additional policy developments landed alongside it: a bipartisan US House bill to create a federal crypto-crime task force, and Hungary’s announcement that it will reverse the crypto trading restrictions it introduced last year.
SEC Targets Rule 611 and Rule 610(e) of Regulation NMS
The SEC press release identifies the specific rules on the chopping block as Rule 611 of Regulation NMS, the trade-through prohibition, and Rule 610(e) of Regulation NMS, which restricts locking and crossing quotations in national market system stocks, along with related defined terms in Rule 600. The agency framed the move as one ‘intended to simplify market structure and reduce costs for market participants while allowing competition, innovation, and other market forces to shape the continuing evolution of our equity markets.’
Galaxy Digital’s Alex Thorn described the proposal as ‘one of the biggest unlocks yet for tokenized stocks’ because it would eliminate ‘one of the biggest structural barriers to tokenized US equities trading in DeFi.’ The mechanics are straightforward: AMMs reprice continuously and fill at whatever the pool curve dictates, meaning they ‘would commit trade-throughs constantly and arguably be an illegal trading center’ under the current rules. Scrapping Rule 611 removes that exposure entirely.
Thorn expects the SEC to substitute a ‘best execution’ framework, which could accommodate AMMs. The proposal is open for public comment for 60 days before the agency reviews responses and potentially adjusts the text.
The SEC tokenised stock rules question has been a live compliance problem for any DeFi protocol wanting to list or settle US equities on-chain. Rescinding the two Reg NMS rules does not solve custody or securities-registration questions, but it does close the trade-through liability gap that made the whole category non-viable.
Federal Cryptocurrency Theft Enforcement and Coordination Act
Republican Representative Lance Gooden and Democratic Representative Josh Gottheimer jointly introduced the Federal Cryptocurrency Theft Enforcement and Coordination Act, which would establish a task force chaired by the Attorney General and drawing in the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
The mandate covers blockchain forensics, evidence collection standards, asset tracing, and victim support. It would also extend training and technical assistance to state and local agencies. According to CoinDesk, which reviewed the bill text, the task force structure keeps the Justice Department as the primary federal coordinator across all participating agencies.
The scale of the problem gives the bill its urgency. Americans reported more than $11 billion in crypto-related losses in 2024, according to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report. The FBI logged 181,565 cryptocurrency complaints in the same period, within a total cyber-enabled crime loss figure of nearly $21 billion across all categories. The HIPAA Journal’s breakdown of the 2025 Internet Crime Report notes that AI-related incidents alone accounted for $893 million of that broader total.
Hungary Reverses Its Crypto Crackdown
Hungary’s Tisza government spokesperson Anita Köböl confirmed at a Thursday press conference that the country will unwind the 2025 crypto framework, which required approved validation for crypto conversions and attached criminal penalties to violations. ‘This was an unnecessary piece of legislation. It made practical operation impossible and frightened the market participants,’ Köböl said, according to a translation by Cointelegraph. ‘The criminal consequences also negatively impacted several hundred thousand people.’
Several digital asset platforms, including Revolut, suspended crypto services in Hungary after the rules took effect. The restrictions also triggered a European Union probe into whether Hungary’s framework was compatible with EU-wide rules on digital assets, a pressure point Köböl acknowledged as part of the reversal rationale.
The policy shift brings Hungary back toward the EU’s baseline treatment of crypto under MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets), removing the criminal liability overhang that drove platforms and users offshore.
For the SEC tokenised stock rules story, the 60-day comment window is the next forcing function: how the industry responds to the proposed Reg NMS rescission will shape whether the replacement ‘best execution’ framework actually works for on-chain venues, or arrives with carve-outs that recreate the same barrier under a different name.
