The US Quietly Rewrites Two Financial Rules! But a Crash More Dangerous Than 1929 Begins

How AI · How the Rewrite of U.S. Financial Rules Quietly Reshapes Market Liquidity?

Key points this issue: A major upheaval is quietly beginning

Hello, I’m Wang Yuquan, and this is Wang Yuquan News Commentary.

Recently, two events may have been overlooked by the public. But when viewed over a longer time horizon, they could mark the beginning of a seismic shift in the financial system. By 2029, it’s likely to resemble 1929—a major bubble’s peak release point, with its roots possibly hidden within.

On March 17, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), together with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), issued an interpretive document classifying crypto assets into five categories: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities. Only digital securities are regulated as securities; the other categories are not considered securities.

This may seem minor and somewhat technical, leaving many confused.

Looking back at the recurring debates over the past few years, it becomes clear that these issues address a long-standing unresolved question: What exactly are digital assets? Are they securities? Do they require disclosure? Are they protected? These questions have lacked clear answers. Without resolution, markets cannot form stable expectations.

Then, on March 18, the SEC approved a rule change for Nasdaq, allowing certain stocks and ETFs to be traded and settled in tokenized form. The pilot currently focuses on Russell 1000 component stocks and mainstream index ETFs—assets with the highest liquidity and core importance.

But the actual change is not very obvious.

Tokenized shares trade in the same market as traditional shares, with identical prices, priorities, and rights, using the same stock codes.

From an implementation perspective, this change is also gradual. The settlement of assets still follows T+1, without disruptive overhaul due to the new method.

The reason these two events haven’t attracted much attention is simple—they are too restrained. Essentially, they just add a new settlement method for the same stock, without full liberalization or disruption to the existing system.

But truly important changes often don’t start with dramatic shifts—they begin with subtle rule modifications.

Once asset attributes are clarified and trading pathways are opened, participation methods will gradually evolve, and capital will redistribute accordingly. The most critical aspect is the expansion of liquidity. This not only creates opportunities but also sets the stage for cyclical bubbles, which at some point could lead to concentrated risk explosions.

Silent Major Changes

First, blockchain technology is entering the stock market, fundamentally changing how capital flows.

In the past, after a stock transaction, the actual asset transfer involved a complex intermediary system—from brokers to clearinghouses to custodians—each confirming and reconciling. Nasdaq’s introduction of tokenized settlement creates a new pathway outside the existing system, allowing assets to be transferred more directly, reducing reliance on multiple intermediaries.

What does this mean?

It’s like how we now transfer money via mobile payments or card swipes—becoming accustomed to this convenience. But decades ago, in an era heavily reliant on paper receipts and manual processing, a transaction from confirmation to completion could take a long time and was prone to errors.

Later, with the advent of computer systems, records shifted from paper to electronic ledgers. Manual processes were replaced by automated systems, greatly improving efficiency, shortening settlement times, and accelerating market operation, leading to a more prosperous economy.

However, this change was gradual. No single day saw all transactions become electronic; instead, new systems layered onto existing ones, gradually replacing older processes as people adapted. Looking back after many years, we realize that certain points marked major upgrades in financial infrastructure.

This time, a new record and transfer method—blockchain—is being introduced on top of electronic systems.

The difference is that from paper to electronic, records shifted from manual to computerized, but asset transfers still occurred within a centralized system. Now, assets can be transferred directly on a blockchain, a more decentralized system.

Today, the scale and pace are not yet obvious because the rhythm hasn’t changed much. But a fundamental variable has shifted: the time needed to complete a full transaction.

From paper to electronic, processes that once took days are now hours; from electronic to blockchain, if further developed, could compress what takes hours or a day into minutes.

Meanwhile, future trading may no longer rely strictly on opening and closing hours but move toward 24/7 operation. Additionally, settlement may no longer depend solely on bank-based fiat currency clearing; stablecoins will become more important, enabling instant on-chain settlement and continuous liquidity.

“2029” is “1929”

But what will this lead to?

We want to emphasize that with the same scale of capital, higher efficiency allows for more frequent use, generating more liquidity.

If this evolution continues, mechanisms for price discovery, market operation rhythms, and capital flow patterns will change accordingly. The change isn’t just technological—it’s about the market’s response speed and volatility.

Once liquidity is amplified, it won’t be evenly distributed; instead, it will concentrate in assets that are easiest to reach consensus on—those with the best liquidity or clearest narratives—driving prices upward rapidly in a short period.

This pattern is well-documented in history.

During the early 2000s internet bubble, capital experienced a similar process. When interest rates were low and internet tech boomed, huge funds flooded into internet companies because they were easiest to tell stories about.

But this concentration inevitably led to bubbles. In a liquidity-rich environment, rising prices act as signals, attracting more capital and pushing prices even higher.

Thus, during the internet bubble, companies with clear narratives and expectations—despite not yet profitable—were valued far beyond fundamentals.

This time, Nasdaq’s tokenization makes liquidity easier to release, capital more easily accumulated, turnover faster, and price feedback more immediate. As a result, what once took years to develop could happen in a shorter time; risks that once took long to digest could be concentrated and released more quickly.

Markets will become more active, sensitive, and extreme, but many investors may not yet realize this shift has arrived.

Historically, every upgrade to the financial system has caused asset prices to fluctuate violently.

If 1929 was driven by the frenzy of mass production and financial expansion, today, new infrastructure is quietly being built, redefining the process of liquidity amplification and setting the stage for future risk explosions.

Therefore, we often say that 2029 could be like 1929. But the question is: how can you preemptively warn about it? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.