The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation received a No-Action Letter from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to offer tokenization services for traditional securities.
The authorization enables DTCC's subsidiary DTC to tokenize assets held in its custody under existing federal securities laws.
The service will launch in the second half of 2026 for an initial three-year period.
Three cryptocurrency projects appear positioned to benefit from the development: Ethereum, Chainlink, and Ondo Finance.
What Happened
According to Bloomberg, the No-Action Letter authorizes DTC to offer tokenization services on pre-approved blockchains.
Tokenized assets will carry the same ownership rights, investor protections, and legal entitlements as traditional counterparts.
The authorization applies to highly liquid assets including Russell 1000 equities, exchange-traded funds tracking major indices, and U.S. Treasury securities.
"Tokenizing the U.S. securities market has the potential to yield transformational benefits such as collateral mobility, new trading modalities, 24/7 access and programmable assets," DTCC President Frank La Salla said.
DTCC will provide details about blockchain network approval processes in coming months.
No specific networks have been selected yet.
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Why It Matters
Ethereum currently hosts approximately $12.2 billion in tokenized real-world assets, representing roughly 66% of the total $18.48 billion market.
Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Assets Research at VanEck, estimated a "99% chance" that DTCC could select Ethereum for its tokenization service.
Chainlink has collaborated with DTCC since 2023 on Swift's blockchain interoperability project.
In September 2025, Chainlink partnered with DTCC and 24 financial institutions to address corporate actions processing inefficiencies.
The oracle network's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol provides infrastructure for connecting different blockchain networks.
Ondo Finance commands $361.2 million in tokenized stocks, representing 51.64% of the $699.51 million market for tokenized public equities.
The SEC closed a two-year investigation into Ondo Finance in November without filing charges.
The company reported 12.67% growth in market share over the past 30 days.
Institutional adoption of tokenized securities could increase on-chain activity and transaction volumes across these networks.
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