The central clearing and custody powerhouse for U.S. capital markets has officially brought its operations to distributed ledger networks. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), which oversees custody of more than $114 trillion in assets through the Depository Trust Company (DTC), launched the DTCC Tokenization Service (DTS) on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
In its initial phase, the service covers 34 securities with an estimated market value of around $30 trillion. This inaugural portfolio comprises Russell 1000 index equities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and U.S. government debt spanning Treasury bills, notes, and bonds.
The move places conventional assets directly onto digital infrastructure without the need for additional intermediaries.
15-Minute Conversion and Nonstop Transfers
Eligible financial institutions can now convert conventional securities into digital tokens during standard market hours. The DTCC has targeted a complete processing turnaround in 15 minutes or less.
Each DTS token is backed 1:1 by underlying assets held at the DTC. Asset holders maintain the exact same ownership rights and investor protections as with traditional securities. The key difference is that these tokens can be transferred between registered wallets 24 hours a day without interruption, bypassing regular stock exchange trading hours.
Operational authorization is anchored by a no-action letter issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in December 2025, which permits the tokenization of designated securities portfolios.
Support from 20 Global Banks and Network Rails
A total of 20 global financial institutions have signed agreements to access DTS. The lineup includes JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Barclays, Citi, UBS, State Street, Fidelity Investments, Citadel Securities, Clear Street, Alpaca, DriveWealth, and Interchange Clearing.
To process transactions, DTS connects directly to two environments: the Canton Network blockchain and the DTCC’s private Besu blockchain.
DTCC President and CEO Frank La Salla emphasized that the launch represents the culmination of years of work. According to La Salla, the step was taken to bring regulated securities onto digital infrastructure while unlocking large-scale institutional adoption in a responsible manner.
2027 Expansion Targets and $5.5 Trillion Projection
The DTCC’s expansion will extend into open systems. By 2027, the DTCC plans to add the Stellar (XLM) public blockchain alongside Circle’s Arc blockchain. The roadmap also encompasses corporate action features and transaction settlements utilizing digital cash.
Industry forecasts further reinforce this expansion trajectory. Citi analysts estimate that the global tokenized securities market could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030, propelled by institutional adoption among traditional financial firms.
For capital market participants, this transformation reshapes the mechanics of asset movement: multi-trillion-dollar securities trades will no longer be shackled to multi-day settlement cycles when digital tokens can move instantaneously.
Reported via CoinDesk.
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