DTCC launches tokenization service for $114 trillion custody base
DTCC's tokenization service went live Oct. 28, letting DTC participants mint digital twins of stocks, ETFs and Treasuries on Canton and Besu.
RWA & TOKENIZATIONETFS & INSTITUTIONSNEWS
Sofia Marchetti
10/29/20261 min read
The Depository Trust Company, a subsidiary of DTCC, switched on the DTCC Tokenization Service on Oct. 28, allowing eligible participants to convert securities held in DTC custody into blockchain tokens and back again. DTC safeguards more than $114 trillion in assets, according to the company.
The service creates what DTCC calls digital twins: tokens that carry the same ownership rights, investor protections and economic entitlements as the underlying securities. Participants can deliver the tokens to wallets of their choice. According to a Morgan Lewis analysis cited by Genfinity, tokenized positions stay registered to DTC's nominee, Cede & Co., which keeps existing legal protections in place.
Twenty DTC participants have signed agreements so far, with more to be onboarded on a rolling basis. Genfinity lists J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, Citi, Morgan Stanley, State Street, Fidelity Investments, BNP Paribas, UBS and Citadel Securities among them. The first networks are the public Canton Network and DTCC's private Besu network, with further chains planned for 2027, including Stellar in the first half of the year.
A narrow start
Scope is set by the SEC staff no-action letter DTC received on Dec. 11, 2025. It covers Russell 1000 stocks, ETFs tracking major indices and U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds, and runs for three years. Only DTC participants can request tokenization; issuers cannot. The Block reported that 34 securities are eligible at launch.
The launch follows a July 15 production test in which more than 30 firms, including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and Nasdaq, ran collateral pledges, securities lending, Treasury repo and equity settlement with tokenized DTC assets. DTCC says the service should let investors move collateral within minutes. “The DTCC Tokenization Service is now live, and this is only the beginning,” the company wrote on X.
Tokenization has so far run largely on parallel structures outside the core U.S. settlement system. Bringing it inside DTC gives banks a regulated route to on-chain collateral. The next tests are how quickly participants sign on and whether meaningful liquidity forms around the tokens.
Source: DTCC, Genfinity, The Block, The Crypto Basic