The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved exemptive relief allowing WisdomTree to offer continuous, round-the-clock trading and instant settlement for its tokenized Treasury Money Market Digital Fund — a historic first for registered mutual fund shares under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
WisdomTree announced Tuesday that the relief permits investors to buy and sell tokenized fund shares with a dealer throughout the day at a stable $1 net asset value, with instant blockchain settlement. Previously, shares could only be acquired directly from the fund once daily after end-of-day pricing.
“This marks the first time registered tokenized mutual fund shares have been allowed to continuously trade and instantly settle in the U.S. through the use of a dealer,” the company stated. The capability is “unprecedented” for regulated funds, preserving traditional protections while enabling intra-day liquidity.
WisdomTree Securities will initially serve as primary broker-dealer, with potential for others to participate. The fund remains a regulated money market product, holding Treasury securities to maintain $1 NAV stability.
SEC Director of Investment Management Brian Daly stated the relief “preserves the protections of a regulated money market fund while permitting retail investors intra-day liquidity.” He added it “fosters innovation and helps make money market funds more accessible to retail investors,” aligning with Chairman Paul Atkins’ commitment to clarifying rules for digital asset tokenization.
WisdomTree Digital Assets Head Will Peck called instant settlement “one of the true promises of blockchain technology” for real-world assets, demonstrating how blockchain can serve as “a new set of rails for capital markets.”
The approval required coordinated SEC and FINRA relief, with Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP assisting. The fund is tokenized on blockchain, enabling 24/7 secondary market trading while maintaining regulatory compliance.
This milestone paves the way for broader tokenization of regulated funds, potentially transforming how retail investors access liquidity and trade mutual fund shares in a blockchain-native environment.
