DTCC Launches Token Service for Securities Held at DTC

The Depository Trust Company (DTC), a subsidiary of DTCC, launched its Tokenization Service on Oct. 28, allowing eligible clients to create digital representations of securities held in its custody. The service links those assets to digital wallets while retaining the rights and protections of their traditional counterparts, according to DTCC’s launch announcement.

The process starts with a security held at DTC. An eligible user uses the service to mint a tokenized representation, which DTCC describes as a securities entitlement, and deliver it to a digital wallet. The entitlement can be converted between tokenized and traditional forms. The token represents the existing security; it does not create a separate set of ownership rights.

Which securities and wallets can be used at launch?

At launch, 34 securities were eligible, according to Ledger Insights’ report. The report says the initial list covers a mix of equities, U.S. Treasuries and exchange-traded funds. The SEC’s December 2025 no-action letter covers a broader set: Russell 1000 constituents, U.S. Treasuries and ETFs tracking major indices. That regulatory scope does not mean every security in those categories is available through the service at launch.

Transfers are limited to registered wallets. DTC participants can register selected third-party wallets for clients, Ledger Insights reports. Twenty DTC participants have signed agreements to access the service, DTCC says; the list includes banks such as Citi, JPMorgan, Barclays and UBS, alongside brokers including Fidelity and Alpaca. DTCC says additional users will join on a rolling basis.

How do token transfers settle, and what are the limits?

When a tokenized position moves between registered wallets on the same network, the transfer itself settles that position, according to Ledger Insights. This can avoid the T+1 wait associated with conventional securities settlement. But the report says transfers between blockchains must go through DTC’s conversion service, which operates from 2 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time on business days. The service also handles conversion between a tokenized position and its traditional form. So the launch does not make every kind of transfer available around the clock.

DTS currently connects to the Canton Network and DTCC’s private network built on Besu, DTCC says. The company plans to add more blockchain networks in 2027. The multi-network setup gives participants more than one digital environment for moving tokenized entitlements, while DTC remains the custodian of the underlying securities.

DTC held more than $114 trillion in assets under custody at the time of the announcement. That scale explains the significance of the launch: tokenized securities are being introduced through existing market infrastructure, with eligibility, wallets and conversion managed within a defined service. The initial limits show how much of the operating framework still depends on DTC’s rules and access arrangements.

Sources

• DTCC’s launch announcement — dtcc.com
• Ledger Insights’ report — ledgerinsights.com