One of the most compelling arguments made by supporters of tokenized stock trading is not efficiency or settlement speed but financial inclusion. Blockchain-based tokenization would allow individuals without access to US markets or traditional brokerage accounts to gain exposure to major public companies like Nvidia, Google, and Tesla through decentralized crypto platforms they can already access. For investors in emerging markets or regions with limited financial infrastructure, the ability to hold a tokenized representation of a US stock with the same voting rights and dividend entitlements as the underlying share would represent a meaningful expansion of access to wealth-building opportunities that have historically been out of reach.

The infrastructure to support this shift is already being built by major players across both traditional finance and crypto. Bullish, the crypto exchange led by former NYSE President Tom Farley, expanded its tokenization capabilities this month through a $4.2 billion acquisition of transfer agent platform Equiniti. The NYSE's parent Intercontinental Exchange has announced plans for a 24/7 blockchain-based trading and settlement system for stocks and ETFs. Tokenized trading has also moved into the pre-IPO space, giving investors exposure to private companies before they go public, though some high-profile companies including OpenAI and Anthropic have actively opposed unauthorized tokenized stocks tracking their valuations. The SEC's expected exemption would give this market a formal regulatory foundation for the first time, though industry figures including Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary have argued that full Wall Street embrace of tokenization will ultimately depend on broader legislative clarity from bills like the CLARITY Act.