SEC Proposes Offering Overhaul for 81% of Public Companies
Updated
Updated · Fortune · Aug 23
SEC Proposes Offering Overhaul for 81% of Public Companies
3 articles · Updated · Fortune · Aug 23
Summary
May’s SEC proposal would open shelf registration and at-the-market fundraising to roughly 81% of public companies, marking the biggest registered-offering rewrite in more than 20 years.
Growth-stage issuers now pushed into discounted private placements could instead raise capital publicly, with the plan favoring disclosure standards over company size or listing venue.
The proposal follows the SEC’s January stance that tokenized securities still fall under securities rules, signaling a broader push to carry existing transparency principles into new market structures.
OTC Markets says that approach could matter widely: its venues trade more than 12,000 securities, handled $453 billion in the first half of 2026, and are on pace for about $900 billion this year.