DTCC launches tokenization service with 20 banks including Citi and JPMorgan
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation said on October 28, 2026 that its subsidiary, the Depository Trust Company, has launched the DTCC Tokenization Service (DTS), letting eligible clients mint tokenized representations of securities held at DTC and deliver them to digital wallets. Twenty participants have signed agreements to use the service, DTCC said in its announcement, including Citi, JPMorgan, Fidelity Investments, Morgan Stanley and State Street.
DTC holds more than $114 trillion in assets under custody, including stocks and exchange-traded funds. The service extends that custody base onto blockchain rails: DTCC said the DTS converts between traditional and tokenized forms of securities that are transferable to digital wallets, while the tokens retain the same ownership rights, investor protections and economic entitlements as their traditional counterparts. DTCC called the launch a “practical path” for tokenized securities adoption.
The route through the SEC
The launch follows a December 2025 no-action letter from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which stated the agency would not recommend enforcement action against DTCC’s subsidiary in relation to its proposed tokenization program. The letter covers Russell 1000 constituents, ETFs tracking major indices and US Treasury securities.
The service went live on schedule. DTCC said in May 2026 that it planned a full service launch of tokenized securities trading in October 2026, following a July 2026 pilot in which DTCC and more than 30 firms completed initial limited-production trades and onchain transactions. The service itself was developed with input from more than 150 firms, the company said.
Permissioned chains for now
For readers tracking ETFs and funds, the practical consequence is that tokenized versions of major US securities can now be held alongside traditional book-entry positions inside the same DTC custody infrastructure, rather than on a separate crypto exchange. Institutional custody of digital assets more broadly has been gaining ground on the regulatory front as banks chase trust-bank charters.
What the launch does not do is touch public blockchains. The service is currently integrated with Canton Network and DTCC’s Besu private network, both permissioned chains, with additional blockchain integrations planned for 2027, DTCC said. Which networks those will be, and whether public-chain DeFi is ever bridged, is not part of the announcement.
