The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the largest securities settlement system globally, has completed a pilot project with blockchain oracle Chainlink (LINK) and several prominent U.S. financial institutions. The initiative aims to expedite the tokenization of funds.
Project Smart NAV seeks to establish a standardised method for bringing and distributing net asset value (NAV) data of funds across various private and public blockchains using Chainlink’s interoperability protocol, CCIP. Participating entities included American Century Investments, BNY Mellon, Edward Jones, Franklin Templeton, Invesco, JPMorgan, MFS Investment Management, Mid Atlantic Trust, State Street, and U.S. Bank.
Through the pilot, DTCC “found that by delivering structured data on-chain and creating standard roles and processes, foundational data could be embedded into a multitude of on-chain use cases, such as tokenized funds and ‘bulk consumer’ smart contracts, which are contracts that hold data for multiple funds,” the report reads.
![](https://coinculture.com/au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/c1.png)
Following the pilot’s success, Chainlink’s native token LINK surged by over 7%, reaching $15 for the first time since May 6. This performance outpaced the broader crypto market, as reflected by the CoinDesk 20 Index’s (CD20) slight decline during the same period.
The pilot comes amid the growing trend of tokenising real-world assets (RWA) such as bonds, funds, and other traditional investments, which is becoming a major use case for blockchain technology. Financial giants like BlackRock, Citi, and HSBC are exploring tokenization for its potential benefits, including operational efficiencies, faster settlements, and enhanced transparency compared to traditional financial systems.