BlockBeats reported on June 15 that investment bank Benchmark described a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposal as the “most decisive regulatory change” for crypto and tokenized asset market structure in 2026. The proposal, published on June 11, would remove Rule 611 and Rule 610(e) from Regulation NMS, ending two long-running U.S. equity market rules related to trade protection and quote constraints that have been in place for nearly 20 years.
The SEC proposal targets two core trading rules
The SEC said the change is intended to reduce trading costs and give more room to market competition and technological innovation. Benchmark explained that Rule 611, known as the order protection rule, requires trades to follow the National Best Bid and Offer, or NBBO. Rule 610(e) restricts locked and crossed quotations. While these mechanisms have been effective in traditional order-matching systems, Benchmark said they create structural constraints for automated market maker, or AMM, models used in decentralized finance.
According to the report, removing the rules would significantly reduce compliance barriers for tokenized stocks and on-chain trading systems. It would also make AMM-based trading models easier to connect with the U.S. capital markets framework. The report placed this issue at the center of crypto market structure because the mechanics of smart contracts and liquidity pools differ from the traditional quote-protection system used in U.S. equities.
Securitize, Coinbase and Galaxy Digital named in the report
Benchmark singled out Securitize as the most direct beneficiary, citing its role as an infrastructure provider for tokenized securities. The report also said Coinbase and Galaxy Digital would benefit from the expansion of trading, market-making and custody infrastructure. In the report’s framing, the areas most closely linked to the rule change are tokenized securities issuance, support for on-chain trading and regulated market infrastructure.
Benchmark also stressed that the proposed rule changes do not resolve every core question. Exchange registration, custody and clearing frameworks, and the legal status of DeFi-native trading still require further clarification. The industry has treated the follow-up “innovation exemption” mechanism as an important supporting policy. The SEC has opened a 60-day public comment period for the proposal, and the report said a final vote is expected in early 2027.