RWA

Michael Selig, Donald Trump's nominee to lead the CFTC, faces a full Senate confirmation following a 12–11 party-line committee approval last month. The decision comes after the CFTC's Dec 4 move to permit spot crypto trading on futures exchanges and a Dec 8 pilot allowing Bitcoin, Ether, and USDC as derivatives collateral.

On December 11, 2025, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued staff no-action letters to Polymarket US, LedgerX, PredictIt, and Gemini Titan. The relief is conditional, requiring full collateralization of all contracts and publication of time-and-sales data to limit enforcement risk.

On 12 December 2025, Bhutan announced TER, a sovereign digital token backed by the country's gold reserves and issued through Gelephu Mindfulness City. DK Bank will safeguard the physical gold while Matrixdock builds the tokenized asset on Solana, aligning with Bhutan's broader effort to expand its blockchain ecosystem and modernize national finance.

On December 11, the U.S. SEC issued a No-Action Letter for DTCC’s Depository Trust Company, approving a three-year pilot to tokenize certain U.S. securities on selected blockchains. Under the program, scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026, DTC may mint and burn blockchain tokens representing security entitlements it already holds, using registered wallets and a permissioned setup. The initiative covers eligible assets such as leading index-tracking ETFs, U.S. Treasuries and Russell 1000 constituents, while requiring DTCC to file quarterly reports on participants, tokenized values and operational issues.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has granted the Depository Trust Company, a subsidiary of DTCC, a no-action letter to pilot tokenization of traditional securities on selected blockchains from the second half of 2026 for three years. The program will cover US Treasuries, major index-tracking ETFs and Russell 1000 components, with tokenized assets retaining the same rights and protections as their conventional versions and being offered to DTC participants and their clients.

Coinbase is preparing to introduce prediction markets and its own line of tokenized U.S. equities, with a formal unveiling scheduled for December 17. The exchange plans to issue these tokenized stocks directly rather than via partners, expanding its roadmap as on‑chain stock trading and event‑based markets gain traction.

Coinbase plans to roll out prediction markets and tokenized equities on December 17, according to a person familiar with the matter. The offering will include tokenized stocks issued in-house, rather than through external partners, the person said. A company spokesperson declined to provide details and directed users to a December 17 livestream for further information. The launch is part of Coinbase's broader effort to bundle multiple markets on a single platform.

On December 12, the SEC issued a no-action letter giving DTCC a three-year window to custody tokenized stocks and other real-world assets on a blockchain. The move allows DTCC to expand its digital asset services in 2024. Proponents say tokenization could improve liquidity, enhance collateral mobility and enable round-the-clock market access.

Galaxy Digital issued short-term commercial paper on December 11, 2025, raising $50M through debt tokenized on the Solana blockchain. J.P. Morgan arranged the transaction, while Coinbase acted as custodian and lead investor alongside Franklin Templeton. The bank said that proceeds from both issuance and redemption will be settled in USDC.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission withdrew its 2020 "actual delivery" guidance for Bitcoin and other virtual currencies on December 11, citing market maturity, according to Acting Chair Caroline Pham. Days earlier, the agency cleared spot crypto trading on U.S. futures exchanges. On December 8, it began a pilot allowing Bitcoin, Ether and USDC to serve as derivatives collateral under weekly reporting.