Nasdaq-Listed Perpetuals (PDC) Plans Tokenized U.S. Stocks Under SEC Innovation Exemption

Published October 14, 2026, 15:15 UTC. Based on Perpetuals.com Ltd's October 14, 2026 press release distributed via ACCESS Newswire, and secondary reporting from CoinDesk dated October 14, 2026.

Perpetuals.com Ltd (NASDAQ: PDC), the Nasdaq-listed fintech led by former FTX Europe chief Patrick Gruhn, announced on October 14, 2026 that it plans to offer tokenized U.S. equities on its platform under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's five-year Innovation Exemption framework for on-chain trading of National Market System stocks. The company published a notice of its intent to rely on the SEC's temporary exemption for Tokenized Securities Venues, becoming the second company to move under the new framework after OKXICE, the joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange, which filed plans last week for round-the-clock trading of more than 60 tokenized U.S. stocks. "The Perpetuals team has long been trailblazers in tokenization, and this expansion into the U.S. allows us to further utilize our platform and deep expertise," Gruhn said in the announcement.

Second through the door after the OKX and ICE joint venture

The announcement puts Perpetuals directly behind OKXICE in the race to build the first regulated marketplaces for tokenized U.S. stocks. OKXICE filed its plans last week, and Perpetuals filed its notice of intent to rely on the exemption on October 14, according to the press release. The exemption, introduced by the SEC in September, allows qualifying marketplaces to trade U.S. stocks on public blockchains without registering as traditional securities exchanges, and it gives listed companies 30 days to object to having their shares traded on a tokenized securities venue. Perpetuals said its U.S. push builds on its existing European tokenization platform and follows a recent agreement to tokenize more than $300 million in real-world physical commodities. For traders, the company said tokenized equities bring 24/7 trading, near-instant settlement and fractional ownership on blockchain rails, while holders keep full dividend and voting rights.

The team that put tokenized stocks on Binance and FTX in 2021

Perpetuals' founding team created the world's first regulatory-approved tokenized stocks in 2021, enabling platforms including Binance, FTX and Bittrex to offer 24/7 stock trading for the first time, and delivered pre-IPO contracts for Coinbase, Airbnb and Robinhood, the press release said. Gruhn co-founded Digital Assets AG, which developed stock-linked tokens for crypto exchanges including Binance and FTX before being acquired by FTX Group, according to CoinDesk. The firm pairs regulated trading infrastructure with artificial intelligence and describes itself as a fintech combining regulated trading infrastructure and AI to open global markets to more participants, per its October 14 announcement.

What the exemption allows, and the 30-day company veto

The five-year Innovation Exemption covers National Market System stocks, the SEC's designation for exchange-listed U.S. equities. Marketplaces operating under it may match trades in tokenized versions of those shares on public blockchains without the exchange, broker-dealer and clearing registrations that ordinarily apply to U.S. stock trading. The tokens must carry the same shareholder rights as ordinary shares, including dividends and voting rights, and every listed company gets a 30-day window to object to having its shares traded on a tokenized securities venue. The structure is meant to let the SEC watch the experiment in real market conditions before writing permanent rules, according to the framework the agency described when it introduced the exemption in September.

Mid-November at the earliest, pending audits and market data

Perpetuals has not set a specific launch date. Trading could begin in mid-November at the earliest, according to CoinDesk, though the company still needs to complete technical and compliance preparations before launch. The remaining work includes market data and compliance arrangements, smart contract security reviews and other preparatory steps, with the 30-day public notice period also needing to run its course. Perpetuals is the second company to pursue a tokenized securities venue under the exemption, so the notice period and the SEC's review of its venue notice are now the gating items to watch.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• Perpetuals.com Ltd, press release dated October 14, 2026 distributed via ACCESS Newswire, primary source for the plan to offer tokenized U.S. equities, the notice of intent to rely on the SEC's temporary exemption for Tokenized Securities Venues, the five-year Innovation Exemption framework for National Market System stocks, the existing European tokenization platform, the agreement to tokenize more than $300 million in real-world physical commodities, the 2021 first regulatory-approved tokenized stocks milestone, the 24/7 trading on Binance, FTX and Bittrex, the pre-IPO contracts for Coinbase, Airbnb and Robinhood, the statement from CEO Patrick Gruhn, and the 24/7 trading, near-instant settlement, fractional ownership, dividend and voting rights framing
• CoinDesk, October 14, 2026, secondary source for the filing of the notice on Wednesday, Perpetuals being the second company after OKXICE to pursue a marketplace under the exemption, OKXICE's plans for round-the-clock trading of more than 60 tokenized U.S. stocks, Gruhn's history as former FTX Europe chief and co-founder of Digital Assets AG, its acquisition by FTX Group, the stock-linked tokens for Binance and FTX, and the mid-November earliest trading timeline pending technical and compliance preparations