Project Open: Modernizing Capital Markets with Blockchain Technology

‍April 30, 2025 - Solana Policy Institute, Superstate and Orca, with support from Lowenstein Sandler, announced the submission of Project Open to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force.

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WHAT IS PROJECT OPEN?

Project Open is a proposed regulatory framework submitted to the SEC to enable compliant blockchain-based issuance and trading of securities. This initiative seeks to harness blockchain technology to create more efficient, transparent, and accessible capital markets while maintaining robust investor protections.

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KEY COMPONENTS

• Time-Limited Pilot Program: An initial 18-month exemptive period allowing a cohort of issuers to register and trade equity securities as digital tokens ("Token Shares") on public blockchains
  
  
• Registered Securities: Token Shares would be registered with the SEC and subject to standard disclosure and reporting requirements
  
  
• Investor Protection: All participants must complete investor education before accessing the system
  
  
• Transparent Ownership: SEC-registered Transfer Agents would maintain ownership records using blockchain technology
  
  
• Instantaneous Settlement: Trades settle immediately wallet-to-wallet, eliminating traditional multi-day settlement periods and counterparty risk

WHY IT MATTERS

Project Open advances core U.S. policy objectives by:

• Maintaining America's Financial Leadership: Positions the U.S. as a leader in financial innovation while preserving investor protections
  
  
• Enhancing Market Efficiency: Reduces settlement times from days to seconds, lowering costs and risks throughout the system
  
  
• Improving Transparency: Provides regulators with better visibility into market activity through blockchain's inherent transparency
  
  
• Broadening Market Access: Creates pathways for more Americans to participate in capital markets through reduced friction and costs
  
  

Project Open demonstrates how blockchain can address longstanding inefficiencies by:

• Eliminating Settlement Risk: No delay between trade execution and settlement
  
  
• Reducing Intermediary Costs: Direct peer-to-peer transactions lower overhead
  
  
• Improving Asset Mobility: Digital tokens move seamlessly across the financial system
  
  

COALITION PARTICIPANTS

Solana Policy Institute (SPI): A non-partisan, non-profit standalone entity focused on educating policymakers on how decentralized networks like Solana are the future infrastructure of the digital economy.

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Superstate Inc: A financial infrastructure firm modernizing capital markets by connecting traditional assets to crypto rails through tokenized investment products powered by their SEC-registered transfer agent. 

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Orca Creative: A software development company contributing to the Orca Protocol, a leading decentralized automated market maker (AMM) built on the Solana blockchain, providing user-friendly DeFi trading and liquidity infrastructure.

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Lowenstein Sandler LLP: A leading national law firm with Lowenstein Crypto specializing in securities and markets regulation, blockchain technology, and financial innovation.

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WHAT’S NEXT

Designed as an open, collaborative initiative, Project Open invites additional industry participants — including issuers, market makers, protocols, and infrastructure providers — to engage in shaping compliant blockchain-based capital markets. Email projectopen@solanapolicyinstitute for more details on how to get involved.

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"Project Open is an embodiment of American progress in financial innovation. Our goal is to work constructively with the SEC and industry partners to create internet capital markets, and make all capital markets more efficient, accessible, and transparent."
— Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO, Solana Policy Institute

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For more information: Full submission available at SEC.gov

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