SEC Greenlights DTCC’s Tokenization Service - Wall Street’s Digital Leap Just Got Real

Forget waiting for the future—Wall Street just grabbed it by the collar. The SEC granted a no-action letter to a DTCC subsidiary, clearing the runway for a full-scale tokenization service. This isn't a pilot program or a sandbox experiment. It's a direct signal that the plumbing of global finance is being rebuilt with blockchain rails.

The Institutional On-Ramp Opens

This move bypasses years of regulatory uncertainty. The DTCC, the backbone of post-trade settlement, now has the SEC's tacit blessing to tokenize traditional assets. Think Treasury bonds, money market funds, and equities—all wrapped in digital certificates that settle in minutes, not days. It cuts through the legacy fog of T+2 settlements and manual reconciliation.

Why This Changes Everything

The gatekeeper just became the innovator. This service doesn't just enable new products; it forces the entire competitive landscape to shift. Asset managers and banks now face a simple choice: adopt digital-native infrastructure or watch efficiency gains—and clients—slip away. It makes the argument against tokenization sound about as sophisticated as defending the fax machine.

A Cynical Win for Pragmatism

Let's be real—this is finance embracing technology only after it's proven it can make old processes cheaper and, more importantly, preserve their fees in a new wrapper. The revolution will be tokenized, monetized, and thoroughly risk-managed. The closing thought? The biggest financial innovation often isn't a new asset—it's a new way to charge for an old one, only faster.

DTC to Tokenize Treasuries, ETFs and Russell 1000 Assets by 2026

Under the approval, the DTC plans to tokenize a basket of highly liquid instruments, including components of the Russell 1000 index, major index-tracking ETFs, and US Treasury bills, notes, and bonds.

The service is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2026 and is designed to operate on pre-approved blockchains for a period of three years.

The DTCC, which underpins much of the US securities market through its clearing and settlement operations, said the no-action letter confirms the agency will not pursue enforcement if the program is carried out as proposed.

Market observers view the decision as a significant regulatory signal, as no-action letters are uncommon and typically reserved for projects with clear safeguards.

DTCC CEO Frank La Salla welcomed the move, saying the tokenization effort could reshape how securities MOVE across the financial system.

He pointed to potential improvements such as faster collateral mobility, continuous market access, and new trading mechanisms enabled by programmable assets.

In an historic milestone, DTC received a No‑Action Letter from the SEC to tokenize certain DTC‑custodied assets. By leveraging blockchain, DTCC aims to bridge TradFi and DeFi, advancing a more resilient, inclusive and efficient global financial system. https://t.co/yYNaHfvjcS pic.twitter.com/E4W47rWBIc

According to the company, tokenized versions of these assets will carry the same ownership rights, investor protections, and entitlements as their traditional counterparts, providing a bridge between legacy market structure and emerging blockchain rails.

The service will be available to DTC participants and their clients.

The SEC has taken a noticeably more open stance toward blockchain initiatives over the past year.

Two decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) projects received similar no-action treatment, and in late September, the agency cleared investment advisers to work with state trust companies serving as crypto custodians.

In August, the agency issued a similar letter to Double Zero, surprising many in the industry and fueling Optimism that the SEC, now led by Chair Paul Atkins, is taking a more measured approach after years of tension under former chair Gary Gensler.

RWA Tokenization Gains Momentum

On Monday, Libeara, the blockchain infrastructure platform backed by Standard Chartered’s venture arm SC Ventures, rolled out a new tokenized Gold investment fund in Singapore, bringing one of the world’s oldest safe-haven assets onto digital rails.

The fund, launched in partnership with FundBridge Capital, allows professional investors to gain exposure to gold through blockchain-based tokens issued on Libeara’s ledger.

In a recent research, Web3 digital property firm Animoca Brands said that tokenization of RWAs could unlock a $400 trillion traditional finance market.

Animoca researchers Andrew Ho and Ming Ruan said the global market for private credit, treasury debt, commodities, stocks, alternative funds, and bonds represents a vast runway for growth.

“The estimated $400 trillion addressable TradFi market underscores the potential growth runway for RWA tokenization,” they wrote.

Meanwhile, according to the 2025 Skynet RWA Security Report, the market for tokenized RWAs could grow to $16 trillion by 2030.