- The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation went live Wednesday with its tokenization service on the Canton Network and its private Besu blockchain. The service initially covers select large-cap Russell 1000 stocks, ETFs and US Treasury bills, notes and bonds, with 34 eligible securities representing about $30 trillion in market value, a DTCC spokesperson told CoinDesk.
- Twenty firms have signed agreements to access the service, including Bank of America, Barclays, Citi, Fidelity Investments, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Citadel Securities, State Street and UBS. Eligible firms can convert securities into tokens during business hours, with DTCC targeting processing times of 15 minutes or less.
- Unlike synthetic stock tokens, the tokens are backed one-for-one by securities held at DTCC subsidiary Depository Trust Company, which keeps the official ownership records. They can move between registered wallets around the clock, subject to compliance restrictions, while preserving existing shareholder rights.
- DTCC sits at the center of US markets, handling clearing, settlement and custody for much of the country’s stock and bond trading, with more than $114 trillion in securities held at its depository. Citi analysts project tokenized securities will become a $5.5 trillion market by 2030.
What Happened?
The launch follows a demonstration earlier this year, plans announced in May and a December SEC no-action letter that allowed DTCC to tokenize a defined set of securities. DTCC’s road map adds Stellar and Circle’s Arc blockchain next year, along with broader corporate-action support, tools for settling transactions with digital cash and the use of tokenized securities as collateral. “Today marks the culmination of years of work to bring tokenized securities into a regulated framework supported by trusted market infrastructure,” said CEO Frank La Salla.
Why It Matters?
This is the strongest signal yet that tokenization is moving into the plumbing of US markets rather than running alongside it. Because DTC remains the record keeper, the model avoids the ownership and investor-protection questions that are driving companies to opt out of third-party venues like OKXICE. Around-the-clock transferability and future collateral use could make Treasuries and large-cap stocks more efficient to mobilize for margin and funding, a meaningful benefit for banks and brokers.
What’s Next?
The next milestones are the addition of digital-cash settlement and collateral tools, and the expansion beyond the initial 34 securities. Investors will watch how quickly the 20 participants move real volume onto the system and whether more firms join, as DTCC expects. Competition is also building, with Nasdaq and NYSE developing their own tokenized trading infrastructure.
Affected Tickers and Coins: JPM, C, MS, BAC, XLM
Source: CoinDesk
