DTCC to Launch Tokenized Securities Trading, Linking Blockchain Infrastructure to $114 Trillion in Assets

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) is preparing to launch tokenized securities trading in July 2026, beginning with limited production transactions before a full rollout scheduled for October. The initiative will extend blockchain-based settlement infrastructure across an estimated $114 trillion in custodied assets.

The rollout marks one of the most significant moves by a core market infrastructure provider to integrate distributed ledger technology into traditional securities settlement systems.

Tokenization Scope Focuses on Highly Liquid Asset Classes

The initial phase will cover a defined set of liquid instruments, including Russell 1000 equities, exchange-traded funds tracking major benchmarks, and U.S. Treasury bills, bonds, and notes.

According to DTCC, development has been supported by an industry working group of more than 50 financial institutions spanning traditional finance and digital asset markets.

Wall Street and Crypto Firms Participate in Development

The working group includes major global financial institutions such as BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Citadel Securities.

It also includes crypto-native infrastructure participants such as Circle, as well as exchanges Coinbase and Kraken, reflecting coordinated involvement across both traditional and digital asset market structures.

DTCC Frames Tokenization as Market Infrastructure Shift

DTCC President and CEO Frank La Salla said the initiative reflects a broader transformation in market structure, highlighting tokenization as a mechanism to improve liquidity, transparency, and operational efficiency across capital markets.

The organization described the rollout as an effort to “bridge traditional finance and decentralized infrastructure” by embedding digital asset rails into established settlement systems.

Core Settlement Backbone Extends Toward Blockchain Integration

DTCC’s Depository Trust Company currently serves as the primary settlement infrastructure for U.S. equities and fixed-income markets, processing the majority of securities transactions in the United States.

The scale of its custody base positions the tokenization initiative as one of the most consequential integrations between legacy financial infrastructure and blockchain-based settlement systems to date.

Regulatory Progress Enabled Pilot Expansion

The initiative follows earlier regulatory approval for a pilot program allowing DTCC to record select U.S. securities on blockchain networks via registered wallets, granted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year.

The approval includes ano-action letter issued in December 2025, allowing DTCC to offer a defined tokenization service for DTC participants and their clients for a three-year period.

This regulatory pathway has coincided with broader institutional experimentation in tokenized securities, including initiatives by major exchanges and financial service providers exploring blockchain-based issuance and settlement models.

Institutional Shift Toward Tokenized Market Infrastructure

DTCC’s managing director and global head of digital assets, Nadine Chakar, described tokenization as a foundational step in the development of future financial infrastructure, emphasizing interoperability, scalability, and risk-managed deployment across market systems.

The launch signals an accelerating institutional trend toward embedding distributed ledger technology within core financial market infrastructure rather than operating it as a parallel system.

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DTCC’s phased rollout of tokenized securities represents a structural shift in how traditional capital markets interface with blockchain infrastructure. Rather than experimental pilots at the periphery, tokenization is now moving into the core settlement layer of global financial markets.

The scale of the initiative—anchored in a $114 trillion custody network—positions it as one of the most significant bridges between legacy market infrastructure and blockchain-based financial systems to date.