The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the world's largest settlement system, has collaborated with blockchain oracle Chainlink to conclude a pilot program aimed at enhancing the tokenization of traditional finance funds.

The Smart NAV Pilot, as the program is known, focused on establishing a standardized method for providing net asset value (NAV) data of funds on blockchains. Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) played a pivotal role in achieving this objective.

The pilot program showcased that structured data could be delivered on-chain, opening doors for various on-chain use cases such as tokenized funds and "bulk consumer" smart contracts, which hold data for multiple funds. This success holds implications for future industry exploration and enables numerous downstream use cases, including brokerage applications and more automated data dissemination.

Prominent US banking firms, including American Century Investments, BNY Mellon, and JPMorgan, actively participated in the pilot program. The DTCC's report highlighted better-automated data management, minimal disruption to existing market practices, and broader API solutions for price data as some of the program's outcomes.

Following the release of the DTCC's report, Chainlink's native token, LINK, experienced a 12.5% increase in value. Over the past year, LINK has demonstrated significant growth, gaining over 130% amid the broader uptick in the cryptocurrency market.

The DTCC's initiative aligns with the growing enthusiasm among major traditional financial institutions for real-world asset tokenization. BlackRock recently introduced a tokenized money market fund called BUIDL on the Ethereum network, enabling investors to acquire tokens representing shares in the fund.

Moreover, interest in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization has been on the rise, with the total value locked (TVL) for RWA protocols soaring to nearly $8 billion by April. Digital carbon market platforms like Toucan and KlimaDAO, as well as real estate tokenization protocol Propy, have experienced substantial user growth.

Tokenized treasuries have also witnessed remarkable expansion, with platforms like RWA.xyz reporting a record $1.29 billion locked-in tokenized U.S. treasuries and bonds, representing an 80% surge since the beginning of 2024. DigiFT, a Singapore-based fintech company, has also ventured into the digital asset realm with the launch of its US Treasury-backed tokenization platform.

These developments underscore the growing integration of blockchain technology into traditional finance, marking a significant step towards the widespread adoption of decentralized finance (DeFi) principles in the global financial landscape.