DTCC launches tokenization service as JPMorgan and 19 other firms sign up

What happened

The Depository Trust Company (DTC), the subsidiary of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) that holds more than $114 trillion of securities in custody, launched the DTCC Tokenization Service (DTS) on Wednesday, according to the company's press release. Eligible clients can now mint digital tokens that represent securities held at DTC, send them to a digital wallet of their choice, and switch them back to the traditional form. DTCC says these tokens keep the same ownership rights and investor protections as the original holdings. Twenty DTC participants have signed agreements so far, among them Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citadel Securities, Citi, Fidelity Investments, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, State Street and UBS. More users will be added over time.

What it means

DTCC is the plumbing behind US markets. After a trade happens, its subsidiaries handle the clearing and settlement, and DTC acts as the central vault that records who owns which securities. In 2025, DTCC's subsidiaries processed securities transactions worth $4.7 quadrillion, the company said. So when an organization of that size offers a regulated way to put stocks and bonds on a blockchain (a shared digital ledger), it matters far more than another crypto start-up doing the same.

The key detail is that nothing leaves the vault. A token here is a so-called digital twin: the underlying security stays in custody at DTC, and the token is a claim on it that can move around on a blockchain. Bitcoin.com News pointed out that DTCC is not shifting its whole $114 trillion custody business onto blockchains. Instead, it is opening a controlled door for eligible securities to be converted into tokens and back.

This launch was a long time coming. In December 2025, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a no-action letter, meaning its staff would not recommend enforcement, allowing DTC to tokenize stocks in the Russell 1000 index, ETFs that track major indexes, and US Treasury securities. In July, DTCC and more than 30 firms ran their first limited live trades using the tokens. The service was built with input from more than 150 firms in an industry working group, and partners include Broadridge, Tradeweb, Fireblocks, BitGo, Ondo and Virtu.

For now, DTS runs on two networks: the Canton Network and DTCC's own private Besu network, with more blockchains planned for 2027. DTCC says the main benefits are faster collateral movement, access to new pools of liquidity and better use of capital. Collateral is the assets firms pledge to back their trades and loans, and DTCC says tokens let firms move it within minutes. The open question, as Bitcoin.com News noted, is whether firms used to the current settlement system will actually use the new tool at scale.

The bull case

The biggest names in finance are already signed up, and the service comes with SEC clearance and the backing of the firm that already sits at the center of US settlement. If tokens let banks move collateral within minutes as DTCC promises, that could free up capital and lower costs. Partners such as Broadridge and Tradeweb could gain new business as more trading and collateral activity runs on blockchain rails.

The bear case

Signing an agreement is not the same as using the service heavily. Large institutions have long relied on existing settlement systems that work well, and they may move slowly. The service only covers certain securities so far and only two networks, one of them private to DTCC. Early volumes could stay small for some time, and any operational problem would draw close scrutiny from regulators.