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DTCC puts tokenized securities through live U.S. trades

DTCC says more than 30 firms used tokens representing its securities in live U.S. trades, a step toward bringing blockchain into core market plumbing.

Uruguay Can Editorial

DTCC puts tokenized securities through live U.S. trades

After more than a decade of development, DTCC said firms had completed live U.S. trades using DTC-custodied tokenized securities, moving blockchain into a production market environment. In its July 15 announcement, the U.S. market infrastructure group said more than 30 traditional finance and digital asset firms took part.

The test matters because it used securities held by The Depository Trust Company, DTCC’s depository subsidiary, in production trades. The tokens were digital representations of those securities; the underlying assets remained in DTC’s custody. That links blockchain-based transfers to the existing system for holding and settling U.S. securities.

What did firms do with the tokenized securities?

Participants used the tokens in several live transaction types, according to DTCC. The process included converting DTC-held securities into digital tokens, then using those tokens in market activity:

  1. Firms converted U.S. Treasury and equity assets held at DTC into tokens on LF Decentralized Trust’s Besu network and the Canton network.
  2. Participants used tokenized assets in Treasury and equity delivery-versus-payment trades, where the asset and payment are exchanged together.
  3. They also tested Treasury repo transactions, collateral pledges, securities lending, token transfers and margin workflows.

J.P. Morgan converted the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF into a tokenized asset, while other firms tested collateral and cross-network transfers. DTCC said about 40 firms participated overall; its July press release listed firms including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Citadel Securities, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange.

What happens before tokenized trading can scale?

The test showed that tokenized securities could be used across several market workflows, but it did not make the service generally available. DTCC says its tokenization service is voluntary and intended for eligible DTC participants. Its current materials place the production launch in the fourth quarter of 2026.

For you, the change is in the market plumbing: securities can be represented and transferred on blockchain networks while remaining tied to assets held by a central depository. Whether that becomes routine depends on firms connecting their systems and using the service at scale.

Sources