US SEC delays tokenized securities regulatory plan, pushing related stocks including Coinbase and Circle lower.

News that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed its tokenized securities regulatory plan weighed on market sentiment, with multiple crypto firms focused on asset tokenization seeing their stock prices fall on Friday. Among them, digital asset platform Bullish saw its stock drop around 8% at one point in morning trading, while blockchain lender Figure fell roughly 9%; Coinbase’s stock declined about 2%, and stablecoin issuer Circle dipped nearly 4%. Additionally, Securitize, the issuer of BlackRock’s tokenized fund BUIDL, saw its stock fall 5% at one point during the session. The market volatility stems from the SEC’s renewed delay of its long-awaited "innovation exemption" program, which was originally expected to lower regulatory barriers for firms issuing and trading tokenized securities and push Wall Street into the on-chain securities space. Meanwhile, the SEC canceled a planned related meeting that was set to discuss whether to introduce a new regulatory framework for certain crypto asset investment contracts. Amid regulatory uncertainty, the tokenization concept has not only hit listed companies but also weighed on broader crypto market performance. Uniswap’s native token UNI, the decentralized exchange’s token, fell around 7% over the past 24 hours, making it one of the worst-performing assets in the CoinDesk 20 Index. Owen Lau, a senior analyst at Clear Street, said the SEC’s delay acts as a "speed bump" for the tokenization sector but does not alter its long-term trajectory. Firms including Coinbase and Bullish are still advancing their tokenized stock businesses, while the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange are also building out related infrastructure. Market focus will now shift to when U.S. regulators will clarify rules for tokenized securities, and whether the Digital Asset Market Structure Act (CLARITY Act) and disputes over the SEC’s authority will further impact the industry’s development process.