U.S. regulators have removed a major source of ambiguity around tokenized stocks and bonds, and the message is straightforward: putting a security on a blockchain does not change what it is.

In new guidance released on Wednesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said that tokenized securities fall fully under existing federal securities laws. Registration, disclosure, and investor protection rules still apply, regardless of whether ownership is tracked on a blockchain or in a traditional database.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

The agency also clarified how different tokenized products should be treated. If a company itself issues or approves a tokenized version of its shares and uses blockchain records as part of its official ownership system, that can represent real equity. But many products on the market today do not meet that bar.

Third-party “tokenized stocks” often provide only indirect or synthetic exposure, meaning investors are not actual shareholders and may not have voting rights or legal claims on the issuer. The SEC made clear those products are still subject to securities and derivatives rules, especially when sold to retail investors.

The guidance arrives as exchanges and financial firms race to bring tokenized securities to market, and as lawmakers debate a broader crypto market structure bill. For now, the takeaway is simple: tokenization changes the format, not the rules. Anyone building or investing in these products will need to design them around existing law, not around technical novelty.