A recent big news in the financial circle: the US SEC has approved DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation) to conduct a pilot program for asset tokenization, covering stocks, bonds, and government bonds. Sounds a bit academic? Let's look at it from another angle—DTCC holds the final settlement authority for US equities and US bonds; without it, these transactions basically don’t exist. Now that such a core institution is officially launching an asset plan on blockchain, what does it mean? Blockchain is moving from an edge tool to a competitor in financial infrastructure.

This time, the SEC's approach is quite interesting. Instead of a grand announcement of "full openness," it used no-objection letters to allow DTCC to test the waters within a regulatory framework. This "cautious approval" sounds conservative, but it actually proves one point: regulation is not fighting blockchain but beginning to selectively embrace it.

The true value of asset tokenization isn’t in the hype of "trading stocks on chain," but in transforming the financial clearing system itself. On-chain transactions can achieve second-level settlement, reduce counterparty risk, operate with full transparency, and even support 24/7 trading. These capabilities, which traditional finance has struggled with for decades, now have new ideas.

For the Ethereum ecosystem, in the short term, don’t expect stock prices to skyrocket, but this is definitely a structural long-term positive. Although not necessarily only Ethereum will be chosen, considering the current market maturity and ecosystem integrity, its competitive advantage remains quite clear. This policy breakthrough may mark a watershed turning point for Web3 from rapid growth to institutionalized application.