Tokenized Apple stock? Reserve co-founder says it’s been possible for a decade

Tokenized Apple stock? Reserve co-founder says it’s been possible for a decade originally appeared on TheStreet.

Reserve co-founder Nevin Freeman told TheStreet Roundtable that while blockchain is technically ready to host equities and bonds, the real barrier is regulation.

“It’s really just a question of the regulatory path to doing so,” he said, noting that tokenized versions of traditional assets have stalled in the United States despite mature technology.

‘Innovation Exemption Plan’

Freeman pointed to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins’s recent directive: “I have directed the staff to consider a conditional exemptive relief framework or ‘innovation exemption’ that would expeditiously allow registrants and non-registrants to bring on-chain products and services to market.”

He then explained that the crypto task force has been developing this very framework to let firms experiment under limited relief.

Join the discussion with CryptoWendyO on Roundtable here.

Freeman shared that during a two-hour meeting in Washington, task-force members were “very excited” by Reserve’s Digital Securities Initiative proposal and told him it was “exactly the kind of thing they want to see tried” under the new exemption.

To prepare for sandbox trials, Reserve launched the Digital Securities Initiative — an open working group drafting a full market-structure model for on-chain securities. Freeman described it as “a comprehensive proposal for what DeFi market structure could look like that incorporates regulatory functions.”

He invited industry participants to review the hour-long presentation at digitalsecuritiesinitiative.xyz and collaborate on refining the sandbox rules.

Next steps for tokenized treasuries and equities

Once regulators finalize the Innovation Exemption Plan, Reserve can instantly absorb any approved tokenized assets — whether BlackRock’s on-chain treasury tokens or future tokenized equities and bonds — into its decentralized token folios.

Freeman said conversations with asset managers are already underway, but success depends on the SEC’s willingness to let firms experiment under the new exemption.

Join the discussion with Scott Melker on Roundtable here.

Looking ahead, Freeman expressed optimism that the 'Innovation Exemption Plan' will bridge decentralized finance and traditional markets.

“Technologically, we could have tokenized Apple stock almost a decade ago,” he noted — but it took a clear regulatory framework to make it possible.

With the SEC’s sandbox on the horizon, tokenized securities may finally have a runway to mainstream adoption.

Tokenized Apple stock? Reserve co-founder says it’s been possible for a decade first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 27, 2025

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.