SEC Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda reported progress on two major initiatives affecting U.S. capital markets: implementing mandatory Treasury clearing and facilitating securities tokenization.

In remarks at the Asset Management Derivatives Forum, Mr. Uyeda said the SEC continues to work to implement the Treasury Clearing Rule, which mandates central clearing for the $29 trillion Treasury securities market. He said the agency extended implementation deadlines by 12 months, giving market participants until early 2026 to prepare.

Mr. Uyeda highlighted approval of two new clearing agencies beyond the existing Fixed Income Clearing Corporation which will expand market participants' options. He said the SEC also approved rule changes (see here and here) aimed at reducing costs and expanding access to clearing services, including addressing "double margining" concerns. He noted that challenges remain around inter-affiliate transactions and the rule's extraterritorial reach and said the SEC is working with market participants to potentially broaden exemptions while preventing loopholes that would undermine the clearing requirement.

On tokenization of securities, Mr. Uyeda said the SEC has shifted away from enforcement-based regulation toward providing guidance and considering exemptive relief for pilot programs. Mr. Uyeda also pointed to a recent public notice of an exemptive application as evidence that tokenization is becoming a practical reality rather than a theoretical exercise.