U.S. regulators have suddenly picked up the pace.

Recently, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins drew a clear line in an interview: in the next two years, the entire U.S. financial market will move onto the blockchain. Not a pilot, not an exploration, but a “full migration”—stock trading, clearing and settlement, all on the blockchain.

When this comes from a regulatory agency, it carries a completely different weight. Keep in mind, the traditional financial system has decades of legacy—switching it out just like that? But Atkins’ logic is clear: tokenization is the path the capital market should take. Put stocks, bonds, and other assets all on-chain, with ownership clearly recorded, and the trading process as transparent as a glass house. Issues like settlement delays or reconciliation disputes naturally become much less frequent.

More practically, it’s about efficiency. Smart contracts take over repetitive tasks—compliance checks run automatically, dividends are distributed automatically, and both labor costs and error rates drop sharply. There’s even greater potential: assets that typically lack liquidity, like private equity or real estate shares, can be fractionalized and traded once on-chain. Lower the barrier, and the market immediately becomes more active.

This move by the SEC isn’t just talk. They recently introduced an innovation exemption rule for the crypto industry and established a framework for token classification and regulation. The compliance pathway is already paved. From regulatory stances to Wall Street’s early trials, the signals are clear—blockchain is set to become as fundamental to financial markets as water, electricity, and gas.

What’s the U.S.’s game plan? To seize the lead. By locking in the global financial technology narrative through this transformation. If this blockchain infrastructure really takes off, transparency, efficiency, and risk management will all see comprehensive upgrades. Other countries will have to follow suit or risk falling behind.

Two years isn’t a long time, but for the entire industry, this could be the biggest infrastructure overhaul in the past decade.