What To Know:
- Executives from Securitize, Dinari, and Superstate say the CLARITY Act does not prohibit tokenized stocks and instead reaffirms their status as regulated securities.
- Coinbase’s withdrawal of support led to the Senate Banking Committee canceling its January 15 markup, delaying progress on the market structure bill.
- Industry leaders argue the bill helps resolve regulatory gray areas, giving tokenization firms a clearer path to integrate blockchain with traditional finance.
Several tokenization companies are pushing back against Coinbase’s criticism of the Senate’s CLARITY Act. By contrast, these firms say that the bill doesn’t slam the door on tokenized stocks. Instead, they argue it confirms what many firms have long accepted i.e., tokenized equities are securities and need to work within established regulatory frameworks.
Tokenization Firms on Coinbase’s Push Back Against Clarity Act
Tokenized equities are alive and kicking, and the current draft of the Clarity Act does not introduce any restrictions for creating and trading them on-chain https://t.co/k3s66FGHiR
— Carlos Domingo (@carlosdomingo) January 15, 2026
The issue surfaced publicly after Coinbase pulled back its support for the legislation and warned that the latest draft could amount to a de facto ban on tokenized equity offerings. Hours later, the Senate Banking Committee canceled a scheduled markup hearing that had been set for January 15. No new date has been announced, which has yet again added fresh uncertainty to an already dicy legislative process.
Executives working directly in tokenization see the bill through a different perspective. Carlos Domingo, chief executive of Securitize, said the current draft does not outlaw tokenized stocks. In his view, it brings long-needed clarity by reaffirming that these assets fall under securities law. That clarity, he said, creates a clearer path for blockchain-based products to integrate with traditional capital markets.
Domingo described the current debate as a normal part of policymaking. Market structure legislation of this scale, he said, rarely moves in a straight line. According to him, drafts change, and positions shift. He added that the bill appears to be actively taking shape, with signs of progress that should encourage developers while preserving market integrity.
Dinari, a US-based provider of tokenized public securities, shared a similar assessment. Chief executive Gabe Otte said his company does not view the CLARITY Act as a ban in disguise. He said the draft reinforces the idea that tokenized equities should comply with existing securities laws and investor protection standards. For regulated firms, that confirmation offers stability rather than restriction.
A similar view came from Superstate, an asset management and tokenization firm led by Compound founder Robert Leshner. General counsel Alexander Zozos said the bill’s real contribution lies elsewhere. According to him, its value rests in addressing crypto assets that sit in gray areas, where classification remains uncertain. Already, tokenized stocks and bonds clearly fall within the purview of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, he said.
Zozos pointed to the SEC’s current work, like Project Crypto under Chairman Paul Atkins. The agency has continued to draft guidance on tokenized securities in the absence of more legislative guidance, he said. To him, the delay in the CLARITY Act primarily impacts projects that want certainty around assets that don’t clearly fit existing definitions. The clash reflects a bigger gap in the crypto sector. Coinbase, as a big exchange with wide retail reach, has taken a more cautious stance on regulations it believes could narrow product offerings. Tokenization companies, many of which exist within securities rules, seem more comfortable with explicit regulatory demarcations.
That divide matters because tokenization has become a serious focus for traditional finance. Large asset managers including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Fidelity have launched or backed tokenized funds. They see faster settlement, improved liquidity, and greater transparency as tangible benefits. Industry estimates suggest that tokenized versions of real-world assets could reach into the trillions of dollars over the next decade.
Against this backdrop, lawmakers had hoped to advance the CLARITY Act early this year. Coinbase’s withdrawal of support and the subsequent cancellation of the Senate hearing have slowed that momentum.
