Key Takeaways:
- DTCC is developing a live example of real-world securities that can be tokenised and held at DTC.
- More than 50 major financial firms are participating in efforts to scale institutional tokenization.
- The initiative could bring regulated stocks, ETFs, and U.S. Treasuries onto blockchain infrastructure with 24/7 access.
Bringing traditional finance onchain has hit a new stage. DTCC, America’s core securities settlement provider, is getting closer to a real-life application involving tokenized assets that are real security tokens held in its party custody network.
This is one of the most important institutional projects in relation to blockchain development to date, and it has the potential to expedite the shift of the traditional capital market towards digital asset infrastructure.
Table of Contents
DTCC Advances Tokenization of Real Securities
DTCC revealed its advancement to a live demonstration of tokenization of assets held at its central securities depository subsidiary, The Depository Trust Company (DTC).
DTCC is approaching a live demonstration of tokenization using assets held at The Depository Trust Company (DTC).
To underscore the significance of this milestone, we break down what tokenization is, how it works, and how it may help enhance the efficiency, accessibility, and…
— DTCC (@The_DTCC) June 15, 2026
This follows a significant milestone achieved by DTC in late 2025 when it was granted a No-Action Letter from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission granting it permission to develop a tokenization service for certain assets held in a DTC.
In the proposed design, a regulatory framework would allow stocks, ETFs, and fixed-income securities to be bound by the blockchain without losing their regulatory status.
DTCC said its objective was not to supplant market infrastructure, but rather use it as a template to adopt it onto blockchain networks preserving ownership rights and investor protections for securities.
Bringing TradFi Assets Into Blockchain Networks
The new service is designed to allow institutional participants to move assets between traditional book-entry form and tokenized form.
Rather than creating separate blockchain-native assets, tokenized securities would remain linked to their existing identifiers and ownership records.
This could address a major challenge for the industry: seamlessly integrating regulated financial markets with blockchain liquidity while maintaining regulatory compliance.
Initial Assets Include Stocks, ETFs, and Treasuries
The first part will be dedicated to high liquidity instruments by DTCC. These include stocks included in the Russell 1000 Index, ETFs that follow major indexes, and U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and bonds.
They will be able to convert eligible assets into tokens and deposit them to an approved digital wallet that runs on an authorized blockchain.
When needed, the same assets can be converted back into traditional custody accounts through DTC.
The design of the model intends to have multiple token standards and multiple blockchain networks to ensure interoperability and not tie those institutions to one particular network.
In a statement, DTCC listed over 50 major financial institutions as engaged in an initiative to influence the adoption of the service at scale. The platform will eventually be ready to start production in the second half of 2026, the organisation said. To the crypto market, its meaning goes beyond efficiency.
