The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) said Monday it has reached new progress and clarified timelines for delivering its tokenization service—an initiative aimed at bringing tokenized real-world securities into the same infrastructure used by the US capital markets today.
Two-Phase Rollout For Tokenized RWAs
DTCC said the service will move in two phases. It plans to facilitate initial, limited “production” trades of real-world assets (RWAs) that have been tokenized using the tokenization service in July 2026. After that trial period, DTCC expects to launch the service more fully in October of this year.
DTCC’s tokenization service, as described in its release, is designed for tokenizing real-world, DTC-custodied assets while preserving the core rights that investors expect from securities held in traditional form.
The company said tokenized assets supported through the Depository Trust Company (DTC) would provide the “same entitlements, investor protections and ownership rights” as conventional custody arrangements.
DTCC further emphasized that the service is built on DTC’s existing resilience and accountability, noting that DTC already custodies assets worth more than $114 trillion.
In remarks accompanying the announcement, Brian Steele, DTCC Managing Director and President for Clearing & Securities Services, said the goal is to provide “systemic scale where deep liquidity already lives.”
Steele also framed the effort as a way to develop the service “in lockstep” with both current industry needs and expected future requirements—while the market collectively builds what DTCC calls “a digital ecosystem.”
How The DTCC Plans To Bridge TradFi And DeFi
DTCC’s digital assets leadership also tied the initiative to broader infrastructure goals. Nadine Chakar, DTCC Managing Director and Global Head of Digital Assets, said tokenization is a “critical step” toward building digital infrastructure for the future.
She added that DTCC aims to stay at the forefront of innovation by supporting a scalable, interoperable, and risk-managed Web3 environment, one that uses digital ledger technology to deliver real value to the broader industry.
DTCC said the firms involved in the Industry Working Group represent a wide cross-section of roles, including custodians, asset managers, brokers, trading venues, application providers, and back-office service providers.
The participating firms include Anchorage Digital, Bank of America, BitGo Bank, BlackRock, and Ripple Prime, as well as over 50 other firms from the traditional finance (TradFi) sector and the crypto industry.
DTCC President and CEO Frank La Salla described the project as a step toward bridging TradFi and decentralized finance (DeFi) through structured, ongoing dialogue.
La Salla said DTCC continues to convene a broad group of industry leaders to support digital assets adoption and innovation, and that the organization sees its tokenization vision as coming to fruition through both launching the service and “successfully bridging TradFi and DeFi.”
Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
