PANews reported on March 12 that SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins stated at a meeting of the Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) that the committee will make recommendations on the tokenization of equity securities. He acknowledged that tokenization helps improve settlement efficiency, reduce settlement risk, and decrease unnecessary intermediaries. Atkins said he expects the SEC to soon consider an "innovation exemption" to allow trading of certain tokenized securities within a limited time and scope, providing a practical basis for developing a long-term regulatory framework. The SEC's Crypto Task Force has been gathering feedback from market participants over the past 13 months through roundtables and public consultations, and continues to solicit feedback on the design of the exemption.