Key Highlights:
- SEC has approved DTC tokenization of stocks on December 11, 2025.
- Tokenized assets will have the same legal rights and CUSIP for 24/7 TradFi-DeFi liquidity.
- Simple conversion orders are established to switch assets from traditional to tokenized form and vice versa.
The Depository Trust Company (DTC), part of the DTCC, announced on December 11, 2025, that it has received an no-action letter for three years from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a new tokenized service. This means that the company can now convert certain traditional financial assets, like stocks, ETFs and bonds, into digital tokens on blockchain, while being fully regulated.
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
— DTCC (@The_DTCC) December 11, 2025
The service will be available to banks, brokers, custodians, and their clients. This service will allow faster, around-the-clock access to these assets through the blockchain technology. This plan will launch fully in the second half of 2026, using their many years of experience in managing financial systems.
Dan Doney, DTCC Digital Assets CTO, highlighted the significance, after years of testing blockchain in finance, this is a key moment for creating a safe and trusted digital market.
Tokenization as a TradFi-DeFi Bridge with Full Investor Protection
DTCC’s new services work more like a safe bridge between traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi). The tokenized assets will have the same legal rights and ownership as regular stocks, ETFs, or bonds, keeping the same protection for investors that are under DTC custody. This will reassure institutions that are worried about how blockchain rules and regulations work.
At first, the platform will majorly focus on traded assets, which includes big U.S. stocks, major index ETFs like S&P 500, and U.S. Treasury securities. DTCC’s system will support different token types, will have built-in compliance checks, and works across various blockchains, so that these tokenized assets can be used on approved networks easily.
Key Benefits of DTCC’s Tokenization Service
Shared Liquidity: Tokenized and traditional assets use the same CUSIP codes. This makes it easy to move them between traditional finance and DeFi and can be instantly accessed.
Same Legal Protection: Tokenized assets keep all the investor protections similar to the regular DTC securities.
Built-in Compliance: Regulatory safeguards are embedded, so everything is in accordance with the SEC rules from the beginning.
Programmable Features: Assets can use smart contracts for automated settlements while making sure that everything stays secure.
Seamless Conversion Process Between Forms
Converting assets is easy and it is controlled by the participant only. If a user wants to tokenize assets, a DTC participant just places a “conversion order,” and DTC turns their traditional assets into digital tokens, which is then sent to a registered wallet.
If the user wants to go back, they simply have to instruct DTC to convert the token back into regular book-entry form.
This two-way system keeps assets moving securely within DTCC’s network without creating any separate system.
Implications for Crypto Markets and Institutional Adoption
The SEC’s approval speeds up blockchain adoption by big institutions, specially for tokenizing real-world assets. Since DTC holds more than $100 trillion in assets, even moving a part of this on-chain can lead to huge liquidity to DeFi. This follows trends like BlackRock’s tokenized funds and JPMorgan’s Onyx platform, but DTCC stands out because of its size and neutral role.
Analysts expect this could lead to quick international settlements, programmable Treasury yields in DeFi, and new ETF innovations. However, challenges still lurk for example, choosing the right blockchain and making systems work together remain to be well-known challenges. DTCC says it will work closely with regulators and the industry to refine the platform.
This move is huge because it shows that traditional finance is increasingly adopting blockchain and could reshape the capital market by the year 2027.
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