Perpetuals com plans to use SEC 'innovation exemption' to launch tokenized U.S. stock trading

October 14 - U.S.-listed fintech company Perpetuals com (ticker PDC) has filed a notice to operate a tokenized securities trading venue under the U.S. SEC's five-year "innovation exemption" framework, operated by its Delaware subsidiary Kephas Corporation. Trading will be conducted through permissioned automated market maker (AMM) liquidity pools, initially deployed on the company-developed Ethereum-compatible Layer 2 chain Kronos X Public, with tokenized U.S. stocks paired against the stablecoin USDC. Per the 30-day requirement following the notice, trading could potentially launch as early as mid-November, subject to completion of compliance, market data, and smart contract security preparations.

The "innovation exemption" allows specific venues to trade U.S. stocks on public blockchains without registering as traditional securities trading platforms. Tokens must carry shareholder rights equivalent to those of common stock, including dividend and voting rights, and relevant listed companies may raise objections within 30 days. Perpetuals com thus becomes the second company, after OKXICE, to advance a tokenized U.S. stock market under this framework.

Its CEO, Patrick Gruhn, previously co-founded Swiss tokenization company Digital Assets AG, helping trading platforms launch tokens linked to stocks such as Tesla and Coinbase, which was later acquired by FTX. Gruhn previously oversaw FTX Europe.