DTCC Reveals Launch Plans for Tokenization Service With Wall Street Giants Onboard

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation will roll out tokenized securities trading in July with limited production trades, followed by a full service launch in October, bringing blockchain to its $114 trillion in custodied assets.

The service will cover a defined set of highly liquid assets, including Russell 1000 constituents, exchange-traded funds tracking major indexes, and U.S. Treasury bills, bonds, and notes. Development has involved an industry working group comprising more than 50 financial firms across traditional finance and decentralized finance.

Major Wall Street institutions participating include BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Citadel Securities, according to a press release. The group also encompasses crypto-native platforms including USDC stablecoin issuer Circle and crypto exchanges Coinbase and Kraken, signaling broad industry support spanning both traditional and digital asset sectors.

“As a global leader in financial services, DTCC continues to galvanize a broad cross-section of industry leaders to facilitate ongoing, robust dialogue that drives widespread digital assets adoption and advances innovation,” said DTCC President and CEO Frank La Salla, in a statement. “Our vision is coming to fruition: launching our tokenization service and successfully bridging TradFi and DeFi. We believe tokenization will significantly change how markets work and operate, bringing new levels of liquidity, transparency and efficiency to investors.”

DTCC's Depository Trust Company serves as the backbone of U.S. securities settlement infrastructure, processing the vast majority of equity and fixed-income trades in American markets. The organization's massive custody base positions its tokenization service as potentially the largest bridge between traditional finance and blockchain-based securities trading.

DTCC's tokenization initiative builds on regulatory approval the company received earlier this year. In December, the SEC approved DTCC's pilot program to record U.S. securities on select blockchains via registered wallets. The move follows broader Wall Street adoption of tokenization, with NYSE partnering with Securitize for tokenized securities and Computershare tapping the same firm to tokenize thousands of company stocks.

“Tokenization is an important and critical step toward building tomorrow’s digital infrastructure,” said Nadine Chakar, DTCC’s managing director and global head of digital assets, in a statement. “DTCC is committed to remaining at the forefront of innovation and championing a scalable, interoperable and risk-managed Web3 ecosystem that harnesses the power of digital ledger technology and delivers real value to the industry.”