Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), a major Wall Street operator, announced on Monday that it will commence limited production trades of tokenized securities in July, with a broader launch of its platform slated for October. The service, developed within DTCC's Depository Trust Company, enables firms to create digital versions of assets already held in custody while maintaining the same ownership rights and protections.
Over 50 firms, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and crypto-native companies like Anchorage and Circle, have provided input in shaping the system. This effort marks one of the most concrete timelines yet from a core piece of market infrastructure transitioning to blockchain-based settlement. DTCC, which processes trillions of trades daily and serves as custodian of more than $114 trillion in securities, is at the center of U.S.
markets. Tokenization, the process of representing assets like stocks or bonds on a blockchain, has gained significant interest among traditional financial institutions due to its potential to reduce settlement times, cut costs, and open markets to new participants. According to Frank La Salla, DTCC President and CEO, "We believe tokenization will significantly change how markets work and operate, bringing new levels of liquidity, transparency, and efficiency to investors." This move is part of a broader push towards tokenization on Wall Street, with other operators like Nasdaq and Intercontinental Exchange also working on similar initiatives. These efforts reflect a wider race to build a shared infrastructure for trading stocks, bonds, and digital assets.
DTCC has been gradually building towards this moment, having tested distributed ledger systems for years and joined projects like the Canton Network. In December, it obtained a no-action letter from the SEC, allowing it to offer tokenization services for a defined set of assets.