Plume Network, a modular Layer 2 blockchain dedicated to real-world assets (RWAs), is now an SEC-regulated transfer agent, streamlining the issuance, transfer, and management of tokenized securities.
As a registered transfer agent, Plume will now manage digital securities and shareholder records directly onchain, supporting interoperability with the U.S. Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) settlement network, according to the press release shared with CoinDesk.
Further, it will facilitate a range of use cases, including onchain IPOs, small-cap fundraising, and registered funds. Most notably, the technology aims to reduce tokenization timelines from months to mere weeks via smart-contract automation.
Plume’s registration provides a much-needed regulatory infrastructure for institutions like BlackRock, Fidelity and Apollo seeking compliant on-chain asset transfers.
“At Plume, we believe transfer agent regulation exists to protect investors’ rights as shareholders. With this fully onchain transfer agent protocol, we are streamlining the issuance of digital securities with a built-in partnership with regulators,” said Chris Yin, CEO and Co-Founder of Plume.
“The crypto industry has been searching for a viable bridge between DeFi’s speed and TradFi’s safeguards. With the issuance of this license places Plume as the ideal solution for this search,” Yin added.
A transfer agent in the traditional sense is a financial institution that maintains official records of a company’s shareholders, manages ownership changes, issues stock certificates, and handles dividend and interest payments.
A blockchain transfer agent, such as Plume, performs similar functions on-chain by leveraging distributed ledger technology, offering a secure, immutable and transparent digital record of asset ownership and transfers.
Plume’s achievement comes after its active collaboration with regulatory bodies, including its contributions to discussions surrounding the GENIUS Act. The announcement follows SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce’s remarks last week expressing the regulator’s openness to engaging with issuers of real-world asset tokenization projects.
Initial product rollout likely in Q1 2026
Plume’s regulated transfer agent is operational, which allows interested funds to engage with Plume’s infrastructure with immediate effect, even as broader regulatory frameworks continue to evolve.
Building on this foundation, Plume plans to launch its initial product offerings, involving Nest protocol vaults, in the first quarter of 2026. Within Plume Network, Nest is one of the significant protocols focused on staking mechanisms for real-world asset (RWA) protocols.
Nest allows fund managers to create vaults backed by regulated financial instruments. Users can then deposit stablecoins into these vaults to earn yield in a permissionless way from the underlying real-world assets.
Targeting 40 Act funds
Plume said that it has already garnered interest from SEC-registered investment funds (40 Act funds). And while regulatory challenges, such as asset custody issues, present hurdles, the company anticipates these will diminish as the SEC proposes new rules through 2026 and finalizes them by 2027.
The 40 Act funds are publicly offered, pooled investment vehicles, such as open-end mutual funds, closed-end funds and unit investment trusts, registered under the Investment Act of 1940.
The timing aligns with a broader market shift toward onchain securities and positions Plume at the forefront of this transition.
“The license enables Plume to support the migration of offchain securities into compliant digital forms, especially 40 Act funds—the traditional backbone of the U.S. asset management industry representing over $39 trillion,” the firm told CoinDesk.
Plume is also seeking additional licenses, including Alternative Trading System (ATS) and broker-dealer registrations, to develop a fully compliant onchain capital market infrastructure for 40 ACT funds.
