The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has unveiled plans to launch a groundbreaking tokenization service for U.S. capital markets, with strong backing from traditional finance giants and crypto-native firms. The service will begin with limited production trades of tokenized real-world assets in July 2026, followed by a full-scale rollout in October 2026.
The initial offering 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. This move brings blockchain technology to DTCC's massive custody base of over $114 trillion in assets, making it the largest traditional finance infrastructure move into tokenization to date.
The tokenization service has been developed in collaboration with an industry working group comprising more than 50 financial firms spanning both traditional finance and decentralized finance. Key participants include BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citadel Securities, as well as crypto-native platforms such as USDC stablecoin issuer Circle and exchanges Coinbase and Kraken. Ondo Finance, a leader in tokenized real-world assets, has also been formally selected as a partner for the DTCC industry working group.
“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. “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.”
The 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.
The initiative builds on regulatory approval 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. “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.”
The DTCC working group will address several key areas: defining data standards for tokenized assets, establishing protocols for settlement and custody, and creating guidelines for cross-platform interoperability. The working group expects to publish draft standards by Q3 2025, with public comment to follow. Final standards may take effect in 2026.
