Major Wall Street operator The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) said on Monday it would begin limited production trading of tokenized securities in July, with a wider rollout of its platform in October.
The service, built within DTCC Depository Trust Company, will allow companies to issue digital versions of assets in custody while retaining the same ownership and protection, according to a press release.
The company said the system is being developed with input from more than 50 companies, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and crypto-native firms such as Anchorage and Circle.
The work marks one of the most concrete timelines yet for moving away from a core part of market infrastructure towards blockchain-based settlement. DTCC is located at the center of the U.S. market, processing trillions of transactions every day and hosting more than $114 trillion in securities.
Tokenization – the process of representing assets such as stocks or bonds on a blockchain – has attracted growing interest from traditional financial institutions. Supporters say it could reduce settlement times, reduce costs and open the market to new players.
Frank La Salla, President and CEO of DTCC, said: “We believe tokenization will significantly change how markets function and function, bringing new levels of liquidity, transparency and efficiency to investors.”
Wall Street’s tokenization push
DTCC’s move comes as other Wall Street operators are pushing for tokenization.
Nasdaq is developing a framework for companies to issue blockchain-based shares and is working with the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange operator Kraken to offer these shares globally, possibly as early as 2027. Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, has also backed plans to tokenize shares through a deal with crypto platform OKX, aiming to capitalize on its massive user base.
The efforts reflect a broader race to build what some call “universal exchanges,” where stocks, bonds and digital assets are traded on shared infrastructure.
DTCC has been building incrementally toward this moment. The company has been testing distributed ledger systems for years and has joined projects such as the institution-focused Canton Network (CC). In December, it obtained a no-action letter from the SEC, allowing it to offer tokenization services for a specific set of assets, including Russell 1000 stocks, ETFs, and U.S. Treasuries.
Read more: Here’s why Nasdaq and NYSE owners are putting the $126 trillion stock market on the blockchain