Tokenization of a wider range of assets continues to move forward with recent SEC actions. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) Trust Company’s ongoing efforts to integrate immediate settlement block-chain based asset ownership continue its creative and persistent efforts started in 2021.
These efforts are being mirrored by NASDAQ and the Intercontinental Exchange. All of our recruiting work for technology and operations professionals in the asset & wealth management business now involves considerations for these skillsets and practical experience.
Tech and ops platform executives continually discuss with us the strategic importance of these initiatives in leading the way toward T&O settlement and the inclusion of non-traditional, private-market assets that are essential to the future of the industry. Gaining experience and expertise in these capabilities, and integrating their use into medium- and long-range strategic plans are immediate concerns. Executives with a track record working in more entrepreneurial fintech environments that are at the forefront of these efforts are expected to be in demand.
Great reporting by Jack Buerher and the team at the Financial Times newsletters:
“The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a no-action letter [December 2025] allowing the Depository Trust Clearing Corp., or DTCC, to custody and recognize certain equities, exchange-traded funds and treasuries on approved blockchains. The relief applies to a pilot program that would run for three years, per Bloomberg.
“The approval enables the DTCC to extend its existing record-keeping and settlement framework to blockchain rails while preserving the same legal ownership rights associated with conventionally held securities, DTCC executives told Bloomberg.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said the initiative is a step toward integrating on-chain technology into financial markets, while emphasizing that the program remains subject to operational limits, per Bloomberg.