The House Financial Services Committee examines tokenized securities legislation on March 25, with two bills aimed at modernizing capital markets through blockchain technology.
The House Financial Services Committee convened its most significant tokenization hearing to date on March 25, reviewing two bills that could reshape how securities are issued, traded, and settled in the United States.
The hearing, titled "Tokenization and the Future of Securities: Modernizing Our Capital Markets," took place in the Rayburn House Office Building at 10 AM EST. Two bills were on the table: the Modernizing Markets Through Tokenization Act, which would require the SEC and CFTC to conduct a joint study on tokenized securities and derivatives, and the Capital Markets Technology Modernization Act, which would clarify that broker-dealers, transfer agents, and financial advisors can use blockchain-based record-keeping under existing SEC rules.
Witnesses included Kenneth Bentsen, CEO of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, and officials from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and Nasdaq. Their testimony addressed how tokenization could reduce settlement times, improve transparency, and lower costs across traditional finance infrastructure.
The hearing arrives at a critical moment. The real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market has exceeded $12 billion, and institutional players including Nasdaq, which recently secured approval for tokenized equities trading, are already moving to integrate blockchain into capital markets.
This also follows the SEC's landmark March 17 guidance that classified 16 digital assets as commodities, opening the door for multi-asset crypto ETF baskets and staking products. Together, these developments signal a regulatory environment that is increasingly supportive of blockchain integration into traditional finance.
Separately, the CLARITY Act is progressing in the Senate after a bipartisan compromise on stablecoin yield reached on March 20. Senate Banking Committee markup is now targeted for mid-April.
The committee is expected to advance at least one of the two bills to markup in the coming weeks. The broader timeline depends on whether the Senate can pass the CLARITY Act before Senator Moreno's stated May deadline. If both pieces of legislation move forward, the U.S. could have a comprehensive digital asset regulatory framework by mid-2026, a scenario that would likely accelerate institutional adoption of tokenized securities.
This hearing represents a turning point for tokenized securities in the U.S. With bipartisan support in both chambers and growing institutional momentum, the path from blockchain experimentation to regulatory infrastructure is becoming clearer. The situation continues to develop as committee deliberations proceed.
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